BBC Broadcasts:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698

looking at those scenes, it looks like the aftermath of a warzone, crazy

Scary as hell:



Just read this translation of a blog entry...I guess the Japanese do have black humour after all.
"Mitaka station has some trains running but all the shops there are closed including the bakery and... Starbucks! So this is really a national emergency now. However Mr Donuts had all their donut varieties in stock. The video store was open. So was the bank and there was no queue for the cash machines. Some restaurants were closed, others open. The bike shop was open so I got my bike tyres pumped to the max for a quick getaway. (Prime Minister Kan was right, this IS just like the Second World War. The French are evacuating. Brits and Americans have been advised to stay put.) Back at home, the rubbish was collected and the postman delivered yet another academic journal.."

Yeah, that's definitely part of it. Personally I think bringing in a bunch of outsiders would likely just complicate and hamper the efforts.

I have faith the people working on it now are acting in the best interests of the country and they are as capable as anyone. I just wish there was a little more transparency with the details and not so much big brother bullsh!t.

I would happily take my gf on an extended holiday somewhere away from the looming vasectomy cloud assuming there was a serious threat of exposure where I am. I have a feeling that will not become public info until it is too late.

Just like the Sumatra Tsunami, this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. I predict 50,000 people will be dead when this is all said and done. I sincerely hope I am wrong. Sincerely.

.

dear fucking god please stop posting.

this guy was found 15km out to sea on his roof

http://www.smh.com.au/world/man-foun...ml?from=smh_sb

http://images.smh.com.au/2011/03/14/...kawa-420x0.jpg


wow..... wow


must have been horrible seeing ships/choppers pass by and not being noticed
and to have his wife swept away ugh...




Food is becoming scarce in Tokyo now too as fears/uncertainty grows

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...72D1PX20110314

Quick update:

The general mood in Tokyo is pretty solemn. I went around to a lot of places today and that's just what I felt from everyones faces, etc. Walking around the stations, people would crowd around the monitors every time the earthquake alarm sounded. There was another shaker in Nagoya today so everyone was a little bit nervous.

It was probably mentioned before but the news announced that there is a 70% chance for a M7+ in the next two days (from yesterday on), and a 50% of the same situation in the three days after that. Add that up with the whole nuclear reactor situation and you can imagine that a lot of people are starting to panic.

A few of my roommates have shared some stories about their coworkers all fleeing west towards Osaka, at least for a little peace of mind. Another roommate actually flew down to Fukuoka today to avoid the madness.

A coworker called a few ward offices in the city to ask if there were any shelters or these kinds of things in the case of a severe nuclear situation and all she got were no's. Needless to say, I'm sure that the reactors will be alright after reading some of the experts' opinions rather than the news, BUT being only 250 kms away from it all does invoke a tad bit of anxiety.

I'm sure this was posted before but I haven't seen it yet.

Looks so innocent at first then gradually gets higher and and crazier. The guy started recorded on the floor and kept backing up higher and higher on the staircase.

http://ca.gizmodo.com/5781566/this-i...an-tsunami-yet

third plant is having cooling problems now?

And how do you know there's not? You have inside info on what's REALLY going on there? Little psychic power at work maybe?

He said he has FAITH in it... as in believing in the good will of others

I think I'd rather just die if I was him. Lost his wife, his home, everything........

I was referring to this part:

^^ yeah they said he was acting normally/relieved until someone gave him a bottle of water to drink then he just broke down sobbing.. so sad



Okay so i was just reading around and found out that the #3 reactor in Fukushima (that had the larger explosion) uses MOX fueling (reprocessed plutonium + uranium)

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-b...0100823a7.html
http://www.oyetimes.com/news/asia/10...tor-3-explodes

Anyway this "truth" seeker has a blog and she writes about the dangers etc as she believes them to be

I know i know you guys are gonna say "troll / psycho" and maybe but she actually cites everything with what seems like credible sources, so far

anyway if anyone wants an interesting read (i only just started and am looking through the references) she thinks a mox meltdown will have the potential to be 2million times worse oO

http://sherriequestioningall.blogspo...-uses-mox.html

interesting read when its 8:30 and you havent fallen asleep yet that is :)


edit: so im reading the comments ppl left on her blog and they seem to discount her concerns :shrug: either way pretty scary situation

wt.. i thought we had a shoulder shrugging emote ;/

Crazy.... cars piled up in a heap, including this Type-R

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...z/a5f099c6.jpg

The fact that regular Japanese citizens have no idea about whats going on with the plant is enough of an indicator for me that the government isn't being forthright with the information they have. No one knows whats going on there.

I completely understand why they are keeping tight lipped, but I don't agree with it. Same thing happened in Chernobyl. The explosions at the plant are hard to hide, otherwise we would probably know a lot less.

If you watch the CBC video featuring the interview with a Nuclear expert, he basically said the govt. is playing with words to downplay the severity of the radiation. Just because the current levels wont make your hair fall out and kill you in a couple of weeks, doesn't mean there isn't a serious problem.

Also, the US soldiers who had radiation all over their clothes and vehicles after being a significant distance away from the actual Nuclear site, and numerous embassies issuing warnings for non-essential personnel to return home. Politicians being whisked out of Japan on private airplanes. Do I need to go on?

People are telling me to eat seaweed and iodine pills. Call it a hunch, but I really think there is a lack of disclosure.

Btw, where are you at and what's your take on it?

I'm really considering taking a morning bus tomorrow to Osaka to stay a few days.

You also assume that the gov't and the officials and workers around the plant, actually KNOW everything. They're human, too, remember - they're not clairvoyant, they can't turn on their x-ray vision and see where the radiation is, and they can only guess (educated guesses, granted) at most of what's actually happening inside the reactors.

"Politicians being whisked out of Japan on private airplanes." - which means what? That your average politician is a pansy that specializes in covering his own ass?

Keep in mind that these people have to walk a thin line between keeping the public safe, and not inciting undue panic, which could lead to even more dangerous situations. People in Japan have to focus on BASIC SURVIVAL - regaling them all with horror stories of every worst-case scenario won't help anything. Telling everyone within 200 miles that they have to get the fuck out won't do any good if they CAN'T - remember, infrastructure is a mess, most peoples' cars in the area have been destroyed by the same tsunami that damaged the plant, there's little or no fuel available for the cars that are still drivable, and there's not a lot of places for them to drive ON.

Don't forget, BTW, that most of what you're seeing is not only being vetted by the government, but by the media it passes through. Try watching some news reports from some very different sources - compare coverage by CNN, BBC, and just for fun, Al Jazeera. Take a look at how similar they AREN'T.


It's easy to sit over here on the other side of the world and criticize how they're handling things, based on edited/sensationalized/biased media reports. Try actually thinking about what these people have to deal with - not just the public, but those charged with keeping them safe, and realize that "keeping them safe" sometime means you CAN'T tell them everything you know.

IMHO if you want to discuss nuclear disaster conspiracy theories and fear mongering, you should start a new thread for it. We need more posts like the rescue story and the twitter translations, and less silliness and freakouts.

If you are still scared, I will post this link one more time. It explains exactly how nuclear power plants work, how they are built, what kind of safety measures they use, and what exactly is going on in Japan. It refers to Reactor 1, and people are saying #3 is failing. Well the problems/issues/solutions will be exactly the same, so again, nothing to worry about if things keep going the way they are going.

Also to keep updated on real news, check this link. It doesn't work for me, but a lot of sites don't load for me these days...

I will just say one more thing on the topic: Everything you read about nuclear disasters and core meltdowns are only there to scare you. There doesn't have to be any reality behind it. Don't fall for it. Read legit information (it's out there) and decide for yourself how to feel. Don't let the media manipulate you. Turn off the TV and stop reading CNN if you have to.

seriously can someone plz ban all the people who troll in this tread, some of the stuff said is downright ridiculus, even by RS standards

I'm watching TVJapan (Mostly NHK stuff), which is free right now. Good info. Uptodate. Even if you don't understand Japanese, you can sort of understand. Channel 514. They're explaining what's inside a nuclear facility right now.


Last night, new footage of the disaster emerged from people who survived the quake and tsunami. There were also interviews with survivors. The news anchor and another woman reporting from one of the worst hit areas were so close to breaking down after the segment aired. I stopped watching. It was all too much. One elderly woman said she hung on for dear life and was lucky to have survived, but was wondering if death would have been easier. Her village was completely wiped out. Nothing left of it.

I tend to agree, but in a way, it brings out the real thoughts of these people. It tells us who they really are. Some of these people are very young and have not witnessed tragedy in their lives.

I see RS as a good place for people to learn and share stuff. I've certainly learned a lot about all kinds of things. Perhaps these younger people can learn about respect and proper behaviour, when it's OK to say stuff, etc. ........... 'cause they ain't getting it from their parents, that's for sure.

A bit of a long read, but worth it, as it explains (among other things) why Fukushima is NOT like Chernobyl: http://theenergycollective.com/barry...te-explanation

Written by nuclear physicists, BTW... not bloggers who google random information off the net and put it together in some semi-coherent way to support their own warped view of the world.