Every morning I search the papers for news of Japan’s nuclear crisis, and even though the situation grows steadily worse there, the unfolding crisis seems to get pushed further and further back in the news cycle.
Events in Libya have justifiably stolen some thunder from the “story” of the catastrophe; but what makes Michele Bachman’s latest lunacy front page news? The Free Press has a small piece about the mounting death toll in Japan on page 3A, but that was it for the freeps; and the rather significant news that the core may be breached in reactor # 3 only made it to page seven of the New York Times!
One has to ask the question: is it our abysmally short attention span to which the press is catering, or is the nuclear industry “managing” news of the unfolding crisis in Japan so as to quickly diffuse public anxiety before it can wreak havoc with corporate interests? Either way, it isn’t a pretty picture; but if it is the latter, one can’t help reflecting on the irony. One of the most highly industrialized nations in the world may be, in this profound instance, a victim of the same kind of corporate “amnesia wash” that swept the gulf oil spill from the public consciousness in just a few short months.
… there’s some sensible “big picture” follow up from some in the media. This story hit the AFP wire earlier today and does a great job highlighting the issues that Vermont has been dealing with vis a vis Yankee.
Something’s happening in Japan?
gets lead-lined waders out
…the whole situation reminds me of that joke, The Dog Died:
(not the best rendition of the joke, but you get the idea)
I personally think Americans have a much longer attention span than is claimed, but when the information flow stops, those who don’t know any better tend to think that’s because things got better or that there’s no news.
If anyone remembers the Late Night Anti-Carter Propaganda program instituted during the Iranian Hostage crisis (aka Nightline), in which, every single night, for just over a year, a never-ending stream of Very Serious MenTM and “Mr. Lies of Omission,” himself presented, in a dedicated hour of television, a story that changed little on a day to day basis, generating a sense of gravitas. Compare that to ANY major non-missing-white-girl story since, and the media’s manipulation of public sentiment becomes painfully obvious.
Twitter is now my “go to” source for bypassing the captive media’s pablum factory. A search on #fukushima gets:
#japan Possible Breach in Core at #Fukushima Reactor; Prime Minister Says Situation ‘Very Grave’ PBS: http://to.pbs.org/ebaOmq
#JAPAN UPDATE: #Fukushima nuclear disaster impact raised from level 5 to level 6: http://www.asahi.com/english/T…
Neutrons detected at Fukushima: Fission occuring in ruined reactors. http://tinyurl.com/4scn2h6 #fukushima #reactor #radiation #meltdown
“@japantimes: #Fukushima plant’s fallout to go around globe http://t.co/mNIHO1L“ they have underestimated the Fallout from the start
#Japan expands evacuation zone around #Fukushima http://wapo.st/hlq7Dp
Japan’s Defense Ministry Releases New Video of Smoking Reactors http://on.wsj.com/hIOlxm #Japan #Fukushima
#Japanese Prime Minister: situation at #Fukushima nuclear plant is ‘still very grave and serious’
Irradiated #Fukushima workers being transferred to a new hospital:
Source: Kyodo/Reuters
“the two were exposed to 2 to 6 sieverts of radiation”WHAT?!Wearing shoes!No Rad level B4 work?!GROSS NEGLIGENCE #Fukushima #meltdown #Japan
#Fukushima Nuke engineer Masashi Goto, events that were considered impossible at #Fukushima have already occurred. http://bit.ly/eUe1OQ
#nuclear reactor 3 containment was confirmed broken when the first neutron beam was observed … surely (days ago) ?
RT @superseed77 irradiated workers kept continuing work even though the individual dosimeters sounded alarm ! #fukushima ~How Chernoble-ish.
How the “Peaceful Atom” Became a Serial Killer | Mother Jones http://bit.ly/fS5dkZ #p2 #fukushima
#fukushima #japan #earthquake High-radiation water leaks now found in 2 more reactors: http://bit.ly/fn5Hh7
Amid widespread contamination from #Fukushima, US carrier had to use ship’s barber shop to test crew – http://bit.ly/gtHxQx
Crowd-sourced radiation levels across Japan. http://www.rdtn.org/ #japan #fukushima
RT @stanscates: Deconstructing America’s Nuclear Cult http://j.mp/hfUnH3 #fukushima #nuclear #p2
RT @julianborger: RT @BelferCenter, at #Harvard. Some simple fixes to help stop another #Fukushima http://deck.ly/~jyc2A
I think, Sue, it’s all part of that “Life is meaningless cause We’re in control, so just go out and shop, cause you can’t do anything about it” marketing plan from our friends on The Big Board. We are hit with one thing after another, like new products. What to buy. What to buy into. Who gives a shit; I’ll take two of each.
But I’ll bet the people in Japan give a shit. And are wondering how a catastrophe of this historic magnitude is marginalized for a ‘business as usual’ attitude. And…just a moment…just a moment…THIS JUST IN:
“An asteroid of enormous proportions has entered our solar system and is heading towards Mars at a very high velocity. Stanford University scientists predict an impact with Mars within 13 calendar days. They predict the asteroid’s impact with Mars will send Mars on a high velocity impact course with Earth. President Obama will address the nation at 7 pm tonight, and Republicans will follow with their response at 8 pm. The Tea Party Alliance will also weigh in with their views at 9 pm. And it is reported that actor Charlie Sheen will announce his 2012 run for the Presidency at 10 pm. Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin will have an in-depth analysis of all this at 11 pm. We now return you to our regularly scheduled reality commercials.”
online except for Herald, it’s all on the front page, basically.
The fact that it is still so upfront serves to show they cannot hide it no matter how understated they attempt to spin it, nor the cheeriness which is actually sardonic given the circumstances.
Extremely disturbing to see a nuclear apologist claiming the injuries suffered by those who who recieveded radiation burns from walking through uranium & plutonium-laced water were ‘no worse than a sunburn’.
Breach possible at troubled Japanese power plant
By SHINO YUASA and JEFF DONN, Associated Press Shino Yuasa And Jeff Donn, Associated Press – 36 mins ago
TOKYO – A possible breach at Japan’s troubled nuclear plant escalated the crisis anew Friday, two full weeks after an earthquake and tsunami first compromised the facility[..]
Suspicions of a possible breach were raised when two workers suffered skin burns after wading into water 10,000 times more radioactive than levels normally found in water in or around a reactor, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.
Water with equally high radiation levels was found in the Unit 1 reactor building, Tokyo Electric Power Co. officials said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_…
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/…
It’s the weapons of mass distraction employed by the right to head off the development of any real popular uprising against the vested interests that fund them. The right, the media and their corporate sponsors would have us believe that the real problems facing us are Sharia law being passed in Oklahoma, anchor babies, a mosque at Ground Zero, ACORN, NPR, Planned Parenthood, Michelle Obama’s war on dessert, Obama spending too much time on his brackets, public unions, Obama’s birth certificate, the New Black Panthers, etc.
This focus on faux problems prevents action on real problems like loose nukes, climate change, deficit and debt, unemployment, the decimation of our manufacturing sector, infrastructure needs, the wealth gap, our addiction to oil from people who want us dead, and the development of an effective global strategy to deal with religious extremism.
Their hope is that we are blinded by distraction politics so that we can’t build a consensus to fight the real agenda. The real agenda is further concentration and redistribution of wealth upwards. So far it’s working really well.
Who are some of those injured at Fukushima?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03…