The Fukushima crisis is officially no longer news

[Sabriel]

Despite the fact that it's still spewing contaminants that end up around the globe, there is currently only one thread on it in both Late Breaking and GD.

Is it possible for us to move on from a disaster that continues to affect all of us?

How do we keep it alive in the media and not let it be subsumed by the next big story?

[ZombieHorde]

1. K&R

[TheKentuckian]

2. It has been pushed from the media because it can no longer be used to sell nuclear power

In fact, it hurts the industry so it is made a non-story and out of sight is out of mind.

[PufPuf23]

3. There are more threads in the Energy/Environment forum.

Are the OPs being moved by Mods or ?

This disaster is far from over IMHO.

[bananas]

31. Some of us post mainly in the E/E and LBN forums

We've been discussing these issues for a long time there.

[CoffeeCat]

95. I love that your posting about this issue...

...and I hope that you will cross post to GD. This issue needs
more exposure on DU and elsewhere.

I need to do more myself.

[marions ghost]

4. keep posting news & discussion about it here

and everywhere you you might have access to.

It's dropped out of the mainstream media as expected. Not good for the nuke industry.

[virgogal]

5. I've thought often about the poor people who had to leave

their homes.

Will they ever get back?

Who knows?

That's why this story can't die.

[AndyTiedye]

6. k/r

[Bonobo]

7. The ridiculous assertion implicit in your OP

Is that keeping it "in the news" is of help to anyone except those who sell papers, soap and feminine hygiene products. Oh, there are also the disaster porn addicts and those who just get off on creating end of the world scenarios.

Yes, the crisis continues and no, it does not need to continue to be milked for entertainment value.

[marions ghost]

10. We definitely need to be kept informed by the media

about a serious ongoing crisis--which can be done without sensationalism. But no, we will not get much in American media at all. And the longer it goes on, the less we will know. This is the pattern.

Do you think the nuclear industry should be able to suppress it? :shrug:

[Art_from_Ark]

49. Here is a link to official radiation levels in Tokyo

http://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/emergency/monitoring.tokyo-eiken.go.jp/monitoring/index-e.html

You can get official Tokyo Metro Government readings of ambient radiation, radiation levels in drinking water, etc. Readings are updated every hour for ambient radiation, every day for tap water.

[Bonobo]

55. They don't want THAT info, Art_from_Ark...

They want the OTHER Info.

You know, the ones that talk about how the Japanese government is lying and that all of Japan's fish, rice and vegetables are poison for the next 10,000 years.

You know, the info that says that the "Japanese radiation" is killing off kids from Seattle to New Jersey.

THAT info.

Got a link?

[Art_from_Ark]

65. I'll check some Bulgarian web sites and get back with you

I'm sure I can find a few links that meet those, um, criteria

[marions ghost]

82. I understand why

you are sensitive, but you're being extreme. There's a balance.

So then we can look to you guys in Japan to continue to keep us informed, since American media is "over it." I hope you will continue to do that on DU.

Guess what, many of us ARE concerned about Japan. And we are also concerned about long term effects if this is not controlled. These are legitimate concerns.

Also--most important--we who are against nuclear power need to SEIZE THIS MOMENT to help us call for big changes in the US. Can we not get something positive out of Japan's quandary? Can we not see some way to ensure this will never happen again?

If we don't have news, Americans cannot follow it, very convenient for the nuke industry.

[Taft_Bathtub]

109. You can find these in the 10 other DU threads about Nukes

10,000 years? I heard 100,000 years from someone, it was great.

[Hissyspit]

127. Here's a new link.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=935419&mesg_id=935419

[nenagh]

11. Bonobo, I know that you are much closer to Japan than many of us ...

because I read what you wrote in previous threads..

and I hope that your and your family are well..

[thewiseguy]

12. Am I the only one who is finding your post to be utter nonsense?

WTF is your problem exactly?

[godai]

27. Yes n/t

[Hissyspit]

106. No.

[AtheistCrusader]

107. It's you.

[Hissyspit]

126. No, it's not.

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. This might be hard to stomach

but this is a crisis that affects more than the home islands, that is number one.

Number two... we Gaijin deserve to be kept in the loop... and yes I KNOW what the term means. FULLY...

And number three... a responsible press REPORTS and I realize some of this reporting is "just for entertainment value for you," but as I told AK the other day... if this was San Onofre it would be NHK pointing fingers...

Now we have officially three governments, two of them democracies, and the third a command economy, deal with a disaster the exact same way. That is lies, half truths and more lies.

It is time to decom nukes, and no, they are not telling you the whole truth. Like the resident of the Ukraine and Pennsylvania you will find this out sooner rather than later.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. DU burp

[ChibaResident]

18. What is your interpretation of the word "Gaijin"? Just wondering. Thanks and nt.

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. It strickly refers to foreigners

and there is quite a history of it... in pejorative term.

Japan and the US, for different reasons, share in exceptional thinking... it is just expressed differently.

Oh and it is just as contagious in both places. I have been able to avoid the we are exceptional ra ra... since I knew quite a bit of the dirty laundry, which all countries have.

[godai]

28. Actually 'gaikokujin' MEANS foreigner. Gaijin is short for that.

It's really not pejorative any more than using 'foreigner' in the US to refer to people not from the US.

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. It is... in the same way

Hawaii uses another lovely term for mainlanders... which strictly does not have any other meaning than mainlander. Colloquialisms are great, aren't they?

All groups do this, Anyway my point stands. If Japan could do it, we'd be kept off the flow of information.

Oh and I am aware I just broke an unwritten social rule by the way.

[LiberalAndProud]

16. Ignorance is bliss?

Ongoing disaster is not news? Bonobo, I get it that it doesn't do your peace of mind any good, but I do think it is newsworthy. It deserves continuing news coverage like that afforded the Iran hostage crisis years ago. Don't worry though, it won't happen.

[Art_from_Ark]

79. I can assure you that Bonobo is not "ignorant" about the

situation here in Japan.

If you want to check the progress of the "on-going disaster" through radiation readings, you can go to this web site and it will show a map with dozens of monitoring points and corresponding values in Fukushima Prefecture, if you want some really hard data about the situation.

http://www.mext.go.jp/component/english/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2011/04/19/1305090_041916.pdf

You can also go to the main page for other radiation-related information:

http://www.mext.go.jp/english/radioactivity_level/detail/1303962.htm

For the Tsukuba area of southern Ibaraki, you can check the web site of the High-Energy Physics Lab for radiation readings:

http://rcwww.kek.jp/norm/index-e.html

For information about radiation in Tokyo, you can check the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's radiation readings:

http://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/emergency/monitoring.tokyo-eiken.go.jp/monitoring/index-e.html

[LiberalAndProud]

85. Great links for radiation readings.

I wasn't accusing Bonobo of ignorance, but of wishing ignorance on the rest of us. Although Rad readings are informative, there's much happening at Fukushima that will affect our world for the rest of our lives. Not newsworthy? I would disagree.

[Art_from_Ark]

87. By the time Japanese news stories make it to English translations

they have often morphed into something that is unrecognizable from the original Japanese. Or strategic parts of quotes are left out. Or twisted around. Bonobo and I can recognize that because we both speak Japanese and can cross-check when something doesn't sound quite right.

[Taft_Bathtub]

108. Thank you for posting these

I tried saying the same things in another thread and was accused of being a member of the Nuclear Lobby. The situation is definitely concerning but not the pants-shitting doomsday scenario many on this site want to hear.

[peace4ever]

26. I happen to agree with the OP. I have family and friends in Japan and I am desperate for news

In fact my partner is going to Japan in 2 weeks, and makes me even more desperate for news.

And since I live in America, where the prevailing winds from Japan end up, is another huge reason I want MORE news.

I find your post to be incoherent, and perplexing considering the scale and scope of this on going catastrophe, the worst the world has ever seen in this deadly industry.

Please show some respect for people who want to learn more about what is going on.

Thank you.

[Art_from_Ark]

52. I think Bonobo is ticked off at all the alarmist crap being posted here

by people who have absolutely no idea what it is really like here in Japan. And when I say "here in Japan", I mean that is where I am right now, probably closer than any other DUer to the reactors. Bonobo is also in Japan.

Alarmist crap includes:

The US Embassy forcibly repatriated private American citizens in Japan (it didn't).

The Japanese national government is going to abandon Tokyo (it isn't).

The US virtually abandoned its Embassy in Tokyo (it didn't).

1/3 of Japan is going to be rendered uninhabitable (maybe 1/3 of Fukushima Prefecture will eventually be temporarily evacuated, but the rest of the country is not a radioactive, glow-in-the-dark basket case).

There WILL be a nuclear meltdown (that is pure conjecture at this point).


If you want the scoop about what it is REALLY like in my part of Japan (between Tokyo and the reactors), I would be happy to steer you toward various Japanese sources.

Where, exactly, is your partner going in Japan?

[nadinbrzezinski]

54. Well let's adress them one by one

by people who have absolutely no idea what it is really like here in Japan. And when I say "here in Japan", I mean that is where I am right now, probably closer than any other DUer to the reactors. Bonobo is also in Japan.

Alarmist crap includes:

The US Embassy forcibly repatriated private American citizens in Japan (it didn't).

(while the US did not forcibly repatriate private citizens it did issue pretty strong warnings, and recommendations, with just about every other government. It also paid for the repatriation of thousands, including military personnel dependents. Having been one I know that a strong recommendation from DOD means... you are leaving.)



The Japanese national government is going to abandon Tokyo (it isn't).

(The national government has had that conversation from time to time over the last fifty years... no it isn't, but I am not shocked Bulgarian press picked on that vibe... and it was amusing)


The US virtually abandoned its Embassy in Tokyo (it didn't).

(The US kept only essential personnel)


1/3 of Japan is going to be rendered uninhabitable (maybe 1/3 of Fukushima Prefecture will eventually be temporarily evacuated, but the rest of the country is not a radioactive, glow-in-the-dark basket case).


(The size of the exclusion zone will depend on lots of factors and we are not there yet. For the moment it should AT LEAST include the 20 km forced evacuation... NHK running that story that they might allow people to come home is stupid... and so oh Russian or American, your choice of accident)



There WILL be a nuclear meltdown (that is pure conjecture at this point).

(Experts, you know those people with PhDs who worked in the industry disagree. There has been at least a partial core meltdown in reactors 1 through 4, I am sorry if I will take THEIR words on this matter. They have a clue after all, from actually having worked with reactors)

Now some of it has been complete whatever, but you guys are also complaining over the AP wire. What is a fact is that the Japanese Government is having the same issue the Soviets did and yes the US over TMI. The COST is insane... not just in psychological terms. There is a reason why no private insurer will take on a nuke... you are living it. And yes, it is not polite to say it, but your government is behaving EXACTLY as the US Government did after TMI, and the Soviets did after Chernobyl. That is minimize, control the information and all is well with the world. It occurred to me today... you know who was the main producer of milk in the US oh circa 1970s? free clue, it wasn't California.

The people around TMI still live with it... clusters of thyroid cancer for example, are higher than average. The same goes for Chernobyl (and both Hiroshima and Nagasaki)... you think this is going to be different how?

[Art_from_Ark]

64. In response

(while the US did not forcibly repatriate private citizens it did issue pretty strong warnings, and recommendations, with just about every other government. It also paid for the repatriation of thousands, including military personnel dependents. Having been one I know that a strong recommendation from DOD means... you are leaving.)

The US government did not actually "pay" to repatriate citizens. Private US citizens who wanted to leave Japan had to agree to repay Uncle Sam at a later date. The Embassy strongly recommended that if possible, US citizens should leave a 50-mile zone around the reactors, as well as the tsunami disaster areas, and that advisory is still in place. However, the US has lifted its advisory against "non-essential travel" to my area, which is on the southern boundary of the 50-mile zone.

And DOD is not the US Embassy-- we're talking about State Department versus Department of Defense here. DOD has its own priorities, but has no authority over private citizens (that is, citizens who are not involved with the US military).


The US virtually abandoned its Embassy in Tokyo (it didn't).
(The US kept only essential personnel)

Actually, according to its own web site, the US Embassy said that it had actually increased the number of staff during the most critical period.


There WILL be a nuclear meltdown (that is pure conjecture at this point).

(Experts, you know those people with PhDs who worked in the industry disagree. There has been at least a partial core meltdown in reactors 1 through 4, I am sorry if I will take THEIR words on this matter. They have a clue after all, from actually having worked with reactors)

There has probably been a partial core meltdown in some reactors, but we are talking about a total meltdown here. If an apocalyptic meltdown is so imminent, why has the US Embassy cancelled its advisory against "non-essential" travel to most of my prefecture, which is on the southern boundary of the nuclear zone? Why has the IAEA assured the airline industry that travel to Japan, including Narita airport, is safe? And radiation levels have stabilized significantly since the worst days. Fukushima is still in bad shape, although surprisingly, radiation levels at Iwaki, just south of the 30km zone, are NORMAL. Radiation readings outside of the 30km zone are the worst along a line NW of the reactors just outside the 30km zone, and that area should probably be evacuated if it hasn't been already.

[nadinbrzezinski]

68. In regards to private citizen evacuations

that is standard practice for the US government... they will, but you repay them. That is like STANDARD and shit... (Not that Americans know that)

And while state and DOD are separate, some of those private citizens were evacuated it the same C-5s military dependents were. Oh and the reason the US could not oder a mandatory evacuation, let's be brutally honest here... there were no logistics in place to transport 100K last time I looked.

As to the meltdown... as I said, I will take the experts, and at one point there was even a denial that a partial meltdown had occurred the famous moment you either are in a meltdown or not. You cannot be a little pregnant. And we will really not know how bad the damage is, like both TMI and Chernobyl, UNTIL the robots are lowered into the core. That is the truth. And if it is above a certain percentage, that is a full meltdown... watch GE go, see we took it in the chin and reactors worked as designed!

Then there is all the talk of cracks... which again will NOT be confirmed until they can get bots in there.

[Art_from_Ark]

72. Oh, for crying out loud

For a few days during the worst part of the crisis, the US Embassy provided travel arrangements to other destinations in East Asia for private Americans wanting to go that path. Now, if you want to leave Japan, you have to make your own arrangements. But there is no way that the Embassy can forcibly evacuate private US citizens who are legally in Japan. Claiming it was just a matter of logistics is pure nonsense.

And once again, DOD and DOS are different entities. They might have shared some air transport accommodations, but they are different entities with different priorities and different jurisdictions.

A partial meltdown is NOT the same as the same as a TOTAL meltdown. It is not a case of being "a little pregnant". As I said, talk about a full meltdown is pure conjecture at this point in time. Ambient radiation levels are mostly decreasing, which would indicate that an uncontrollable meltdown has not occurred. There is a possibility that a total meltdown MIGHT occur, but it is just speculation to say that one WILL occur.

[nadinbrzezinski]

73. For petes sake there were not enough planes

period.

how many national airlines CANCELLED flights? That started with Germany by the way. NO, there were NOT ENOUGH ASSETS to move 100,000 people... PERIOD. So even if they decided to do the unusual... (The US tends NOT to order mandatory evacuations, like ever)... they had NO WAY TO ENFORCE IT for multiple reasons.

Oh and yes I know the difference in the alphabet soup of the US Government... by the fracking way.

And no, they will NOT KNOW how bad the damage is until they lower them bots... LIKE BOTH TMI AND CHERNOBYL. THAT IS THE FUCKING WAY IT IS.

And the industry LIES... again that is STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE... it is not Japan... IT IS THE FRACKING INDUSTRY. :I don't care if you think this is possible or not... that is the way it is.

Have a good day. I know... even questioning this goes agains the social mores... but that is the way it is.

[Art_from_Ark]

74. For Pete's sake yourself

American airlines were traveling to Japan-Narita during the worst part of the crisis, once the airport was reopened. Furthermore, the US Government was NOT preventing Americans from traveling to Japan during that time. Thus, the lack of a forced evacuation of Americans from Japan was NOT a matter of logistics.

I agree that the full extent of the damage is not known at this time. But claiming that it is a total meltdown is PURE CONJECTURE at this time.

And I don't give a rat's ass about what the industry says. No one here trusts TEPCO. But I have the advantage of being able to look up Japanese news and data sources as easily as English sources, and living in an area that is full of research centers, universities, etc. that are constantly monitoring the situation. Hell, I know people who are taking measurements here.

Have a good day yourself.

[Name removed]

89. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Taft_Bathtub]

112. Actually the term meltdown isn't used by many

experts in the field because it's incredibly vague. So yes, you can partially meltdown, technically any time the fuel heats so hot that it starts to melt, it is melting down. However it is not leaving the reactor core or leaking into the environment. That's entirely different.

[AtheistCrusader]

114. Actually, you can be a 'little pregnant' in a core meltdown.

It must escape both the steel primary, and concrete main containments to be a FULL meltdown.

These 'partial' meltdowns may not and probably have not escaped the primary steel vessel.

[dionysus]

86. i'll trust people that are actually there, rather than self proclaimed experts...

[AtheistCrusader]

113. Reactor 4's core is empty.

Hard to have a partial meltdown in nothing.

And don't be so disingenuous, you KNOW the implication from the other posters is a FULL core meltdown all the way through containment, into the water table.

A partial core meltdown that does not escape the primary only presents problems for the cleanup crew. Nothing more.

[Art_from_Ark]

77. If you're so worried about your partner coming to Japan,

instead of listening to alarmist bullshit from people who really have no idea what it is actually like on the ground here in Japan, why don't you check out the US Embassy's web site for information about the situation in Japan?

http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/acs/tacs-info-travelers.html

[CoffeeCat]

97. In what world has this story been "milked"???

We barely even *got* the story and there is no coverage now.

This affects us all.

Last week, CRIIRAD, a French research body on radioactivity, advised European pregnant women and also children to avoid
consuming fresh milk and leafy vegetables. CRIIRAD described such behavior as "risky". Noted in the article, was
the fact that in the United States, our levels of radioactive iodine-131 is 8-10 times greater than in France.

That's the last I heard. An article from France. With no follow-up from United States media that would include
information, context or warnings for us

Contrary to reality, you actually suggest that this story is being "milked"?

I think that's one of the most bizarre things I've ever read on DU.

[nenagh]

8. My go-to blog on energy/disaster info, TheOilDrum..

Has closed comments on its last Fukushima open thread :(

[readmoreoften]

36. Good indication something is really fucking wrong.

[snagglepuss]

50. Yeah what's with that? It's editor wrote an impassioned piece several weeks

ago and now it no longer is going to have a discussion thread. Very odd.

[CoffeeCat]

99. That is mind blowing--and comments sections are often...

...closed on stories related to Fukushima. I noticed that happened for a while
on the New York Times site. There was no opportunity to comment and those comments
contained such raw truth. Many experts (with noted credentials in the nuclear industry)
were pointing out flaws in the NYTimes articles and how they were using nuclear-industry
lobbyists to tell us that "all is well".

A few experts would leave their full names, organizations/universities and titles and their
information could be verified on Google.

Great information in those comment sections. 95 percent of comments were from people who
felt uninformed, upset and that the media was downplaying Fukushima and failing to report
and inform the public.

I find it disturbing that the comments would be turned off on a site like Oil Drum. That's
a hard-core wonky site for oil techies. You just wonder what goes on behind the scenes. Has
anyone asked them?

[Wilms]

9. What do you think about Donald Trump? n/t

[LiberalAndProud]

13. Or did Sarah Palin birth Trig? Got to keep our priorities straight, you know.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. It is up to us to keep the info flowing

suffice it to say it is not over... not by a long stretch. But the industry is reacting the same way it does every time... lie, lie some more, and control the info. This makes the work of a press, that is no longer encouraged to go beyond the rails, that much harder.

[tnlefty]

19. Well from what I see here the story ia different:

http://enenews.com/ Oh and people did notice when the drinking water in Chattanooga listed high on the iodine-131 scale, but downplayed it.http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/apr/14/japan-radiation-found-local-water/

My Mom watches the energy news site and watches things on her own, after I sent her the link.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. They have been a treasure

They were the first to report that a few of our stations were ahem down for maintenance...

[Rex]

22. You would think a disaster like what hit Japan would stay in the news

HAHA just kidding, we all know the M$M only reports subjectively on events that fit their paymasters agenda.

They want us to forget;

The GOP stole an election in 2000
9/11
Katrina
Iraq
Afghanistan
Libya <--- new war
The Gulf of Mexico
East Asia and the fact that a nuclear plant is in meltdown.

DAM...that is a lot of shit to forget!

Oh well, who do you think will win American Idol this year!?

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. Idol is so last year, keep up wiht the times... DANCING

with the STARS... where you too can see a disgraced congress critter....

[Rex]

44. WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE TOM DELAY ALONE!

"Republicans are people too!"

:rofl:

Seriously though...WTF!?! A meltdown and NOT a peep about it or radiation OR the plight of the Japanese I mean JEBUS FERKIN CHRISTMAS TREE! This should be round the clock coverage...er...no I'd rather watch Storage Wars!!!!

[Liberal_in_LA]

25. you would think so...Japan dropped from the front page like a stone

[spanone]

32. even the tsunami / earthquake news.....zip

[Rex]

43. It really is amazing! A world changing event and our M$M

is in its typical 'here is what you need to know' news. :eyes:

I mean this is HUGH...earth shattering events and American news organizations would rather talk about superficial stuff to fill in the time slot.

I guess we get the news we deserve...kinda like voting? :shrug:

[Bonobo]

66. Kind of like how the hundreds of thousands of tsunami victims got dropped like a stone

as soon as there was a sexier and more fear-inducing story like the nuclear story...

Those people lost house, home, jobs, families, everything they owned... but it is done and old news and doesn't have the "pop" that a good old nuclear disaster scenario has.

[nadinbrzezinski]

70. Actually that is not the reason and it is creepier than that

you see a good quake has RESCUES... sexy rescues. A tsunami was nothing but debris. If the media is all about if it bleeds it leads, scores of bodies and sexy rescues are far easier to cover than cesium and iodine and core meltdowns.

[Rex]

75. Yes, exactly...I saw footage of the devastation and it took my breath away.

And now, not even a meltdown can call in Bill O' Stupid to dish out some serious news! They want the public to focus on a certain 'story' that gets ratings. All the cable news channels really care about is ratings...they couldn't give one fuck about the people...though I have seen some actually go to where the story is and report in dangerous situations. But this is different, they cannot stand 50 feet in front of the buildings in their 1000 dollar suit and 50 dollar haircut, so they don't report and the public goes largely unaware.

It was in the news...just like BP and all the oil they gushed all over the Gulf...in the news...just like Iraq or Agfhanistan...now Lybia...yesterdays news. Did Brittany shave her head again or what? We want feel good bullshit tripe before bedtime - not miles of flatted houses and buildings.

How are the recovery efforts going there?

CNN/Fox won't be talking about it, unless like Bonobo says - things heat up and get worse, then they will be all over the story like flies on shit.

Just not close by.

[Liberal_in_LA]

23. k&r

[flamingdem]

29. Here's a GREAT article on this very topic!

http://www.opednews.com/Diary/Coping-with-fallput-by-John-Peebles-110418-128.html

Long article at link, excerpt:

Fukushima's radiation continues to leak and Americans seem completely disinterested. Now of course the mainstream media is an old and familiar culprit in keeping the people uninformed. Rising out of the perception management game now is also the Federal Government, which appears unwilling to test and identify the scope of the threat. The lesson appears to be that we're on our own.

I'm beginning to think the problem isn't with greedy corporations, or weak regulatory enforcement but rather with the American people. Most seem so passive and accepting of their fate. It really does bring up the saying that all evil needs is for people to do nothing to confront it.

Of course if no one opposes these corporate behemoths then they'll get away with everything they can. It brings up another saying, by Benjamin Franklin, to the effect that we've been given a Republic, if we can keep it.

It takes an informed populace to keep its leaders under control. People need to participate in the democratic process. I've heard democracy described not as an end but a work in progress. If people don't get involved, there's no one to hold those in power accountable.

As bad as the corporations are, it's the unwillingness of the American public to fight for itself that's a far greater challenge. SNIP see more at link

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. Thanks from the same article

As bad as the corporations are, it's the unwillingness of the American public to fight for itself that's a far greater challenge.

I've talked to someone whose come to accept being downwind of the Fukushima disaster. They believe that the odds of being affected are something they have to live with. Get impact, well then that's just your bad break. Price of living in a modern society. Beyond our control.

I say that's a bunch of crap. People need to resist. We're more than chattel. This I believe from a spiritual perspective. We need to work together to preserve our world--isn't that the only way we'll survive? Logically, Spock would say, there is only one direction or way to go which protects the human species from destruction and greed brought on by a debt-based, hyper-consumption economy.

[marions ghost]

84. Acceptance = passive victims

:applause:

Humans are cockroaches to the Nuclear industry and Corporatocracy.

[Sabriel]

91. Thanks for the link, which brings up several interesting points

We're not so different from the Japanese and the "gaman" concept the article mentions. Around Wisconsin, it's almost a given that you don't discuss painful/controversial topics in public, and sometimes not even in private.

Yet I'm getting the sense that people are just waiting for...something.... A leader? A movement? I don't know. They want to talk, but someone has to help open the floodgates holding back the concern and anxiety, making it acceptable--even encouraged--to talk about fears of milk contamination, long-term effects of measurable radiation, and so on.

If we can get 100,000+ people together to protest a bill, can we do the same for a global environmental disaster?

[RegieRocker]

33. Remember the part in Independence Day (movie) where

some people went to the top of the building to greet the aliens? There are days when I think most of mankind would be on top of that building. I hear no radiation, I see no radiation, I feel no radiation so what is the problem?

[nadinbrzezinski]

35. Flamigdem posted this

http://www.opednews.com/Diary/Coping-with-fallput-by-John-Peebles-110418-128.html

You will like the thesis, since it is the same.

Oh and most people react that way during crisis. Denial is just part of it.

[flamingdem]

37. Good point. Denial has a role. My defense mechanism is information overload

and sharing it on DU! Then others can be anxious along with me;)

[Bonobo]

38. So other than self-soothing, what are you accomplishing?

There are accusations that I am living in denial, but here in Japan, there is a saying: "Shou ga nai". -It means that things that you cannot do anything about must be accepted.

I think YOU guys mistake information for "doing something" and you mistake being in a state of fear with being alert (and therefore safe?).

In fact, you are willing victims and actors in a game of scare and be scared that is making you feel as if you are accomplishing something like preparedness or awareness.

Actually, you are just participating in a form of delusional; entertainment where you are fed and then proceed to feed others with crises as entertainment (disguised as awareness).

Meanwhile life (real life) goes on... engage with it.

[flamingdem]

39. I appreciate that this means so much to you

but you are misreading what I wrote and I feel you don't understand very much at all about the posts on DU.

First of all it seems that you are very controlling about information. Have you noticed that people mostly
post news that is not being seen in the MSM?

I was being playful. I feel fully that this is an under reported story and people want to ignore what is
obviously the story of our time in terms of disasters.

I believe that the Japanese government could do more to warn people and fear for the results we will see
in the future in terms of cancer. I believe that there will be hundreds of thousands of cancers from
this and at least some could be avoided with awareness. Including outside of Japan. This is a global issue.

I'm not a victim in any game of scare, and I'm sorry that your arrogance is blinding you. Instead you could
see it as people caring about your country. I think it's shocking how little care and attention has been given.

You need to get over seeing the sharing of information as entertainment, we are all curious human beings. I am
not interested in dialoging with you because of this attitude I've seen. Sorry doesn't wash. You'd just like
people to shut up and say what you agree with for some reason, on a forum of all places.

I wish you well in a difficult situation.

[nadinbrzezinski]

41. Well some of us were able to get shelf stable milk

before it reached here. That is already an accomplishment.

It is also a clash of civilizations, I understand it. But like the Ukraine, this will be a problem for Japan, and chiefly Japan's unborn. And quite frankly I have a lot of empathy for the suffering that is about to hit your country. (Well starting in anywhere from two to five years)

And yes we care.

[MadHound]

42. I think that you are assuming a lot about other posters on this board,

And that you are trying to pass off your residency in Japan as somehow being an expert opinion.

There are real problems with Fukushima, and they are growing worse. One of the biggest problems is that TEPCO is trying to save Fukushima assets, and in the process is continuing to let the crisis worsen, and in the bargain, allowing further contamination to spread, both in Japan and across the world.

You may be in a blissful state of acceptance, but the reality is that you too could do something, namely join with others in Japan to try and force TEPCO to use the Chernobyl solution, now, rather than trying to save assets.

You assumptions about the motivating factors of posters on this board tells far more about you than perhaps you care to admit. Furthermore, your self aggrandizement as being some sort of expert because you are closer to the situation than most of us is simply bullshit. Lack of distance does not equate to an increase in expertise. We have several posters on this board, myself included, who are actually experts in the nuclear field, and frankly many nuclear experts, both on this board and out in the real world, are quite worried about what is going on, what is being said, and what isn't being said.

So get down off your high horse, stop pretending that your proximity equates to expertise, stop assuming the worse about others and actually listen to what people are saying. You actually might learn something.

[Bonobo]

47. Among the MANY things wrong with your post, let me pick a couple...

1. "force TEPCO to use the Chernobyl solution"

I do not know if that is the best thing to do and neither do YOU. Odd that you should accuse me of "rying to pass off your residency in Japan as somehow being an expert opinion" when it seems that YOU are the ones with a delusional sense of your own expertise. THIS tells us much more about you than YOU care to admit.

By the way, I never said people weren't really worried, but when people are stuck in a kind of addiction as in the case of the media scare stuff which creates a desire to gather more and more "infobits" so as to assuage the panic they have induced, it is not always evident to the addicted person.

So let me try to lay it out a little more clearly for you.

1. Media scares you (in this case it is a scary situation for Japan near the plant, but not really for you so far away). The SCARE is the problem that they will now leverage.
2. Scared viewer has desire to "do something"
3. If "information is power", than getting more juicy "infobits" is DOING SOMETHING in the mind of scared viewer
4. Media source that did the scaring can now offer you the solution which is MORE INFOBITS.
5. Consume, regurgitate on your own media (message board) and then go diving for more juicy infobits.

meanwhile the behavior you have engaged in is completely unproductive unless the goal is to spread fear.

I think the process is somewhat like Naomi Wolf's "Shock Doctrine" concept. First induce a crisis of fear and then reap the rewards.

Sorry if my opinion makes you feel I am on a high horse. Sometimes it is unavoidable giving that impression when you can see deeper than some others.

[flamingdem]

51. Yes you are on a high horse

watch out you might fall off.

Your are succeeding in being offensive but whatever, like I'd listen to someone who thinks like you, NOT!
Waste of time at best. Nice way to start with attacks and then continue them without acknowledging that
two people have called you out for the supposed expert you are and still you don't realize it's


NOT ABOUT YOU

[Bonobo]

53. Nothing I said suggests I think it is about me.

It is not about YOU either though.

And so far, I see no reason to change my opinion that you and some others are engaged in self-soothing infobit gathering information -that seems to somehow be serving some kind of function for you.

But let me disavow you of the notion that it is helping the situation because it is not.

Spreading fear with no practical value is well, valueless and even damaging.

No, I am not "covering" anything, but I am telling you that there is news of value that is important and then there is news that makes you FEEL as if you are doing something when all you are doing is being used.

It is not about you either and you are not helping with the same shit every day.

"Keeping it in the news" is meaningless if it has no outlet.

Yes, the situation is bad. And you are not helping in any way except to make yourself feel less impotent.

[nadinbrzezinski]

56. Ok here you hit a nail and you don't even see it

And it is how different cultures and individuals deal with things. Both Mexico and Japan share that trait of don't worry if you cannot do something.

But here from your words.

except to make yourself feel less impotent.

Believe it or not, that is an important trait in disaster management. So if you happen to be fine and feel less impotent by either not dealing with it, or having that acceptance that there is nothing you can do, why bother. THAT is the way you deal with it.

Other cultures deal with it differently. OTHER individuals deal with it differently. TRYING To actually understand what is going on... and searching for information and all that is exactly about that.

Why minimize it?

Yes a few folks are hoping fukushima falls off onto the sea... but most of the posters here, even those looking for info and trying to understand what is going on are not.

The polite thing is to accept the cultural difference and move on. There is nothing you can do about it.

[Bonobo]

57. Thank you.

That was a very mature and wise post.

I bow my head to your words of wisdom.

You're right.

[nadinbrzezinski]

59. You welcome and remember even with all the differences

we care about you guys.

All this searching is about that too.

[flamingdem]

58. Viva la diferencia! I think you're correct

and it is important to be polite in the process when cultural differences are in play, if they are in this case.

It's funny same thing happens around Cuba with Cubans who are so protective of their island and they trash
a non-Cuban and in the process isolate their culture.

In anthropology it's understood that an outsider can size up a culture often better than an insider. This is
touchy of course but I've found it to be true. One aspect here is a that the outsider actually gives a crap
and the insider takes things for granted.

[nadinbrzezinski]

61. Now you've done it

while most of my classmates did their antro 101 paper on ... book subjects, I did on Americans.

I was a young immigrant with less than three months in.

[flamingdem]

63. Oh I love to see that kind of thing

and the whole "whiteness" trend that started in the Universities in the late 90s.

Finally it was understood that white was not just generic and deserved some analysis.

Did what you wrote ruffle feathers?

[nadinbrzezinski]

67. Yep, especially among the kids

how dare I... I mean it was an easy assignment. That was chiefly what bothered them.

[flamingdem]

60. I am not aware of your background

and your language doesn't give you away.

Suffice to say different strokes for different folks.

Please note that nearly 100 percent of what I have posted about Fukushima is news or others commentary.

Note what I wrote to Nadin. At least I give a crap about what is happening to people there because of
having friends there and somewhat of a history with the culture and country.

Note that most people are unaware and don't care, and never will.

[marions ghost]

83. I meditate on this every day, you could call it a vigil

it is a huge crisis. Environmental and humanitarian.

I still watch what's going on re. the Gulf. I follow global warming news (yeah I know, that's a leftist conspiracy), etc. I pay attention. Somebody has to do it (yes I have a biology background).

Damn, I must be one o them there "enviro-mentalists"...

OR maybe I'm just a real smart monkey, wiser than all of them nuklear people (except Arnie Gunderson)

:shrug:

[marions ghost]

90. MOX fuel scares me

n/t

[MadHound]

93. Let us talk expertise for just one sec.

How much experience do you have in the nuclear field, in the nuclear industry? How many years have you worked in a nuclear plant? How many years did you spend as an HP? Please, answer those questions, simply, in a straightforward manner.

Now, my CV in this matter. I have over a decade in the nuclear field, in the nuclear industry, at both a large and small nuclear reactor. I have spent over a decade in this as both an HP and a lab rat. I know my shit when it comes to nuclear power, nuclear contamination, how to measure, what those measurements mean, when a situation is being overblown and when it is time to say "oh shit" and head for the hills.

I am not saying that it is time to say "oh shit" and head for the hills, at least not right now. But I see TEPCO's efforts so far as directed more at saving assets than actually trying to end the crisis in a safe and timely manner. At this point, with three cores on the verge of a major meltdown, on fire, spewing radioactive material into the environment, yes, it is appropriate and necessary to apply the Chernobyl solution. Do you even know what the Chernobyl solution is? Let me inform you.

The Chernobyl solution is where one pumps in a mixture of sand, clay, lead, and concrete laced with boron into the containment vessel. What this mixture does is twofold. It puts out the fires that are currently burning, and better yet, since lead and boron are neutron absorbers, it would take the core back down below critical mass, and would prevent it from reaching critical mass again. Then you entomb the entire plant in this boron laced concrete in order to further lessen the surrounding area to radiation, and to prevent any further damage to the environment.

Granted, this measure would essentially ruin any physical assets at Fukushima, and yes, judging from their actions, this is why TEPCO has yet to use it. I am not the only one who is surprised that TEPCO hasn't pursued this course either. I've received emails from former colleagues, friend, family and acquaintances, all of whom are in the nuclear industry, and down to the last one, we're all baffled by TEPCO's seeming unwillingness to take this logical step.

As far as the rest of your post, it is more tripe that you are spewing, making more baseless assumptions about myself and others on this board. The media doesn't scare me, because actually I find, in this case, that is has been fairly useless to turn to the media for news. I find my web of contacts in the nuclear field a much better source of educated, informed news than what the media releases.

Thus, the rest of your premise falls apart, since it is assuming that I'm somehow a "scared viewer" with little or no knowledge of these matters outside of the media. You know what they say about somebody when they ass u me.

It isn't so much your opinion that is making you appear to be on a high horse, but rather your tone and attitude. Again, you are implying that your proximity to the situation makes you some sort of expert on the matter, when in reality it doesn't. If you were such an expert on the matter, then you would have more credibility, but you're not. You are simply another bystander, with little to no experience in the nuclear field, a bystander whose knowledge base is severely constrained, and thus whose conclusions are faulty and in error.

[nadinbrzezinski]

96. Oh boy, that reminded me of two people I know

who have lived and worked with or around reactors.

Rachel Maddow did the best job in explaining the bascs of this to the public... (That from one who had to have some theory on the subject) after that... none at all. The American media is crap... see Cenk Ungyur going, but, but we can get a mushroom cloud out of this... no, Cenk, no you can't.. please get knowledgable people in.

The second... he could not stand the media... since they did such a bad job of explaining this. So he turned all of them off and like you has relied on CONTACTS to find out what is going on. All he says is... bad ju-ju... for classification reasons he can't say much.

Both agree that the reason why civilian plants are not run like Naval Reactors is that they'd make zero profit... and that the civilian side of the industry is a joke and has been for years.

:hi:

Oh and this is civilian insert country here.

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. You alarmist you...

:hi:

By the way, I think I deal with things the same way.

[flamingdem]

45. LOL!

:D

It's the "intellectual defense" he he even if it leads to unintellectual decisions at times.

[Bonobo]

48. Read my above post and then tell me what all your "hard work" is accomplishing.

Other than self-soothing that is.

[mountainlion55]

71. no radiation is good radiation

Benobo is the primate second closest to humans in DNA.

[Generic Other]

46. Just like BP

only we are all the gulf states.

[right2bfree]

62. Keep on taking the Potassium Iodide tablets. nt

[Warren DeMontague]

69. I can tell you the exact moment it stopped being a 1st tier news story:

and it had nothing to do with the situation being more, or less, 'in control'.

The minute the markets started getting well and genuinely freaked, the M$M dialed the coverage WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY back.

Plus, you know, science an' shit is complicated, no one wants to alienate the cheetoh-stained masses with too much scary information.

[liberation]

115. Yup...

The markets were freaking out because the distribution chains, esp. the components coming out of Japan, had been severely affected.

Besides the burying of Fukushima, we also have not gotten proper coverage on the effects of the tsunami/earthquake itself. This was after all one of the strongest quakes ever recorded and thousands of people have died.

But then again, who remembers the gulf spill even as untold workers in the clean up are getting sick? And what about Haiti, that whole country is still destroyed. Hell, most of our country does not know/care about what happened to all the people displaced after Katrina.

Not that we could expect any differently, given the 5 minute attention span that most people have been conditioned/reduced down to, and the subjugation of reporting to market requirements.

[Search4Justice]

76. Same thin happened with ..

.. The BP Oil Rape of the Gulf. The damage is far from over from either of these.

[ELY08]

78. Maybe it has something to do with this

"Japanese government has moved to crack down on independent reportage and criticism of the government’s policies in the wake of the disaster by deciding what citizens may or may not talk about in public. A new project team has been created by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication, the National Police Agency, and METI to combat “rumors” deemed harmful to Japanese security in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.

The government charges that the damage caused by earthquakes and by the nuclear accident are being magnified by irresponsible rumors, and the government must take action for the sake of the public good. The project team has begun to send “letters of request” to such organizations as telephone companies, internet providers, cable television stations, and others, demanding that they “take adequate measures based on the guidelines in response to illegal information. ”The measures include erasing any information from internet sites that the authorities deem harmful to public order and morality".

http://japanfocus.org/-Makiko-Segawa/3516

[Bonobo]

80. The only problem is there is no "Shingetsu News Agency" and Segawa Makiko is a non-entity.

One of the advantages of reading Japanese is being able to check stuff like this.

She is as much of a reporter as Shingetsu is a news agency ---which is to say 0%.

The "Shingetsu Institute" was started by some foreign guy named Michael Penn a few years ago. It has no credentials to claim itself to be a news source.

http://www.shingetsuinstitute.com/michael-penn.htm

[ELY08]

103. Thanks

[Lorien]

81. The MSM has determined that almost no news event is worth more than a month's worth

of coverage at the very most...except when it comes to covering the tea bag "movement".

[jeff47]

88. I'm more troubled by the fact that the tsunami instantly disappeared from the news

Once the nuke plant problems started, it seems like everyone forgot there was the 4th largest earthquake ever and a massive tsunami that killed tens of thousands and displaced massive numbers of people.

But once the plant became unstable, that all disappeared. It was instantly replaced with "OMG! THE EBIL RADIATIONZ IS COMING TO KILL US!!"

[emmadoggy]

102. That has bothered me a lot too.

I think BOTH events deserve attention and coverage, but it seemed that as soon as the nuclear problems became a big danger, it was as though the earthquake/tsunami coverage got elbowed to the side and I haven't heard anything about it in quite some time.

I just really want to hear about how the Japanese people in the devastated regions are faring and if they are receiving all the help needed. If more is needed, keeping attention on it helps to remind people to make donations if they can. It's not like it needs to be wall to wall coverage and sensationalism (as some here seem to be implying we want) but simply some continuing coverage a couple times a week at least, letting us know how the recovery is going. Most of us just genuinely care about our fellow human beings and want to know how things are going.

[Exultant Democracy]

92. BP oil spill, also no longer news. I blame the media.

[CoffeeCat]

94. K&R....It is unthinkable that this is NOT front page news...

The last high-profile articles from the national media--discussed Cesium and Iodine in our
milk, drinking water and rain water.

The radiation is still spewing from Fukushima, as you said. Those radioactive isotopes
continue to make their way to the United States and other parts of the globe. The
problem has, no doubt, worsened--because Cesium and Iodine levels can only be worse--due
to repeated fallout dropping daily from Fukushima.

It's mind blowing and sickening.

[robdogbucky]

98. Okay, amongst the info I found this.....

Tuna's 25,000-mile swim down marine highway
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor 12:01AM GMT 15 Dec 2005

"The epic voyage of Terry the bluefin tuna - the equivalent to circumnavigating the Earth - has been witnessed by scientists using electronic tags to track fish...

...Now another epic migration, this time of a 200lb bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) nicknamed Terry, has been followed by marine scientists tagging fish to reveal marine highways and to help to preserve endangered stocks.

The tag broadcast Terry's trans-Pacific wanderings - three crossings in 20 months, a distance of 25,000 miles. Why the fish did this is a mystery...

...The Topp (Tagging of Pacific Pelagics) project has discovered that bluefin tuna once believed to live separate lives in Japanese and Californian waters may belong to a single population. "Before, this tuna would have been counted twice and we would have thought there are twice as many tuna as there are," said Prof O'Dor. This has important implications for managing fish stocks, he said, adding that similar findings have also been made by Prof Barbara Block of Stanford University in the North Atlantic where the two separate groups are also thought to intermingle when migrating..."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/canada/1505564/Tunas-25000-mile-swim-down-marine-highway.html



So, even though we are constantly told we have nothing to be concerned about, this study is from 2005, in the middle of this project. Don't tell me that Fukushima is only a concern to the Japanese, and by dog, leave them alone and don't scare them any more than necessary. This does not exactly inspire confidence either:



Success no given in Tepco road map

By MINORU MATSUTANI and KAZUAKI NAGATA
Staff writers

Too many uncertainties cloud the feasibility of Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s plan to achieve a cold shutdown of the damaged reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant in six to nine months, experts said Monday.

Tepco announced Sunday it aims to stabilize reactors 1, 2 and 3 to make sure radiation emissions decline in three months and then go for a cold shutdown — in which the temperature of the reactor-core coolants is brought below 100 degrees — in six to nine months.

"There are too many uncertain elements to guarantee the work will be finished in the given time frame," said Tadashi Yoshida, professor at the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory of Tokyo City University. "Tepco is probably aware of the uncertainties. But by announcing the plan, Tepco gave itself a commitment. That is a meaningful thing."

The plan includes a new tactic — filling the containment vessels of reactors 1, 2 and 3 with enough water to cover the pressure vessels, which contain the fuel rods...

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/nn20110419a2.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+japantimes_news+%28The+Japan+Times+Headline+News+-+News+%26+Business%29


Arne continues to sound rational and tell it like no one else dare tell it right now:


Gundersen Discusses Current Condition of Reactors, TEPCO Claim of "No Fission" in Fuel Pool, and Lack of Radiation Monitoring in Fish

VIDEO HERE

Gundersen analyzes new pressure and temperature data from the Fukushima reactors and containments. TEPCO recently denied that the fuel pool in Unit 4 was experiencing a partial inadvertent criticality, despite the finding of radioactive iodine-131 (an isotope with an eight-day half-life). The utility blamed the iodine on deposition resulting from the explosion of the other buildings. Gundersen takes an in-depth look at TEPCO's Theory. Lastly, he discusses the FDA decision not to monitor fish for radioactivity.

http://www.fairewinds.com/updates


I don't like being preached to, especially by folks with a dismal credibility track record on this issue. So, don't tell me that I am an irrational alarmist yelling the sky is falling. We were not told the truth about so many things, it has become SOP to wonder how bad is it really? Rest assured, we won't know until after the fact. Kind of like finally admitting the Iraq War was all about the oil. Well, duh?



rdb

[CoffeeCat]

100. K&R (nt)

[neoralme]

101. It got the Republicans past the budget, although that didn't work

out too well for them. Even the relatively few stories I am seeing seem, like always, are a regurgitation of the same facts, and some new ones dumped in. That Gunderson guy was good. The other dude, with Thom Hartmann, not so much, IMO. Seems to grandstand a little. I'm going to start searching for a site that has some real news on the disaster. When people in California start glowing, I'm sure MSN bump that elephant Kim Kardashian for a couple days.

[jakeXT]

104. I used the NHK world app for my ipod to view the news

The news outlets outside of Japan were always behind and reporting old stuff.

[harmonicon]

105. How about dealing with it rationally?

A few weeks ago it seemed like almost every damn thread here was about it, newsworthy or not. This is the problem with all news cycles. One or two things are picked up on, hammered to death, and then dropped. It has little to do with reporting news (as evidenced by most of the Fukushima "coverage", i.e., speculation), and a lot to do with grabbing attention to keep an audience and sell advertising.

[TNLib]

110. I stopped posting anything about it despite the fact my area has seen an increase in radiation

in the water and I live in the South East. People on DU act like I'm being hysterical for asking questions. I guess I'll have to find a pro-environment forum to get any kind of intelligent discussion.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

111. Gulf spill? What Gulf spill?

[liberation]

116. Haiti who?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

117. No shit.

But Sarah made the headlines.

[Mason Dixon]

118. I challenge the DU Membership

Few humans live to witness real change in the course of Humanity.

We are those few.

Make no mistake; no one living today will ever know how many people die from this ongoing disaster.

I challenge the DU Membership to make this an issue for our 2012 local, state and national elections.

The Question: What are you going to do about Japan? What's your plan? No matter how little I know, or how big a lie you tell me, I know this will change the course of humanity and America in particular.

How do you believe Japan affects: Health, Cancer, Economics, Manufacturing, Collegiate Investment, Job Recruiting, Military Relations, China, Japan's Debt, Americans debt to Japan,

My Disclaimer: As an American I am absolutely crushed to see this disaster befall humanity, but furthermore to see it happen to one of our closest and friendliest nations makes it far more personal than observational. My only optimism is that the US is one of the partners that helps heal Japan. Our Candidates need not share my view, but we all must force them to have one. Questioning them is only way for the record to begin.

[snagglepuss]

120. Well said. A post several weeks related how a handful of Japanese

anti-nuke activists fought MOX reactors tooth and nail. They eventually lost the battle last August HOWEVER their efforts dealyed implementation of MOX in reactor 3. Had they never fought and thus delatyed the implementation, MOX would have been in the spent fuel pools by now instead of contained in the reactor. Those few people have had a momumental impact. No effort is wasted.


Welcome to DU. :hi:

[AsahinaKimi]

119. I have been posting stories about ALL of Japan

Since the disaster of the earthquake, Tsunami and even Fukushima. I hope to continue posting stories, though I tend to lean towards the Human interest stories, and one of hopefulness. I hope people appreciate it, but if they are sick of hearing about Japan, they can ignore my posts. As an American of Japanese decent and one who has family still there, I feel its important for people to understand what the Japanese are going though, with hopes people will come to understand what things can happen when disaster strikes, after all.. Some day it might be us.. who have to deal with Earthquakes and Tsunami. Lets hope the American people will respond with the same kind of caring and heart that we are seeing today in Japan.

[Sabriel]

121. I've appreciated your posts, AK.

If not for you, there would be little at all showing up, human interest or otherwise.

And at this point, EVERY piece about Japan is of interest to humans.

[AsahinaKimi]

124. Arigatou

Thank you.

[nadinbrzezinski]

122. and I have raed and recommended every one of them

As you said, if some people are tired of it, they can ignore them. If some do not like the angle, they can again, hide thread.

[AsahinaKimi]

123. Arigatou

Thank you!

[Kalun D]

125. Yeah, K and R

Huff Post usually doesn't even have it on the front page, and when they do it's near the bottom.

Losing respect fast for them.

I posted in GD, some links to new drone footage

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x932568

[KoKo]

128. K&R! Thanks so much for your post... I might add that BP Disaster is no longer news, either.

Gotta keep on these stories it's the DU TRADITION...even when you think folks are reading...they ARE! But, some are too weary to keep up the fight. That's why ...more than ever...the fight needs to go on!