Massive 8.9 Earthquake near Japan

[Theory]

Thanks for the videos Sagittarii, the last video sent chills all over my body. Watching that vehicle with people in it get washed away, is just heartbreaking.

I was looking through some of the other videos on youtube and came across this little video. It's not from the recent disaster, but from the 2004 Tsunami that hit Malaysia. I could not believe that the adults allowed these children to be caught up in the tsunami, it made me sick...Sorry its a bit off topic, but I thought I would show you how stupid people can be just in case you didn't already know;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihN1qYVhka4&feature=related

[Ace Rimmer]

There are no limits to human stupidity !

Man since this earthquake, the tsunami and the nuclear reactor problems it is hard to focus on anything else going on in the world. It is just gut wrenching to see what all of those people are trying to deal with.

[Sagittarii]

There's a lot of people in this world who could care less about the tsunami and go on with their daily lives and never thought twice about it. But those people will be the first ones fighting in the streets and bitching and criticizing others when something happens to THEM because of the rampant sense of entitlement that permeates American society. Look at the Japanese in this situation, no looting, no crimes reported, people are patient with each other and help each other. Just take a look at Katrina and you see how Americans act during a tragedy.

[Ace Rimmer]

There's a lot of people in this world who could care less about the tsunami and go on with their daily lives and never thought twice about it. But those people will be the first ones fighting in the streets and bitching and criticizing others when something happens to THEM because of the rampant sense of entitlement that permeates American society. Look at the Japanese in this situation, no looting, no crimes reported, people are patient with each other and help each other. Just take a look at Katrina and you see how Americans act during a tragedy.

Oh yeah people just go on about their business and ignore what is going on around them. If it doesn't directly intrude into their bubble, they really don't pay any attention! We seem to have already forgotten all about the oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico and the damage done.

I so agree about the Japanese people. We have talked about that a lot at our house. Talk about grace under pressure. If that was here it would be looting and who knows what else would be going on. I greatly admire the Japanese culture/people.

[goldenstar]

I feel so badly for the ones affected by this tragedy. So sad!

[Ace Rimmer]

It is beyond horrible. The people, 140,000, close by Fukushima Dai-ichi, the ones that have not left the area, they are told to seal themselves in their houses, if they even have a house left and they have no food or water or heat! this is just so tragic.
They are clearly grasping at straws in desperation on how to control the mess at Fukushima Dai-ichi. It is just going from worse to worse and worse.

One bright note, they are still finding people alive, lets hope they continue, what a marvel.

[ilacewords]

I'm hearing now this has surpassed the Three Mile Island tragedy. Just one thing after another there. I'm also hearing of a no fly zone being introduced around a 20 mile area. How are the people to get help? You can't just seal yourself in your house and wait for it to get better outside. Can't believe this is their only hope and direction given to them. This is just truly heartbreaking especially to just only be able to observe and maybe donate some money and/or blood to redcross or blood banks, I'm just at a loss of what to do.

[Ace Rimmer]

I wonder how long they are suppose to stay buttoned up in their houses! Here is more about the radiation.

http://www.komonews.com/news/national/1 ... height=173

[Randyrrr]

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: Before and After

http://news.discovery.com/earth/japan-b ... gn=rssnws1

[spacerelatives]

Three Mile Island...


...What the Thompsons say they found out during their time inside TMI suggests radiation releases from the plant were hundreds if not thousands of times higher than the government and industry have acknowledged -- high enough to cause the acute health effects documented in people living near the plant but that have been dismissed by the industry and the government as impossible given official radiation dose estimates.

http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/04/post-4.html

[Ace Rimmer]

Three Mile Island...


...What the Thompsons say they found out during their time inside TMI suggests radiation releases from the plant were hundreds if not thousands of times higher than the government and industry have acknowledged -- high enough to cause the acute health effects documented in people living near the plant but that have been dismissed by the industry and the government as impossible given official radiation dose estimates.

http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/04/post-4.html

Thanks for this link. What an eye opener.

[Theory]

I found this site earlier, and it gives a little more info. on the nuke plants and the radiation status in Japan. I get a little confused with all the numbers that pertain to radiation levels, so is 400 millisieverts (mSv) per hour radiation dose something to be concerned with or is it nothing? Heres part of what is on this site, I never heard this in any of the news, but I could have missed it I guess.

"About 150 persons from populations around the Daiichi site have received monitoring for radiation levels. The results of measurements on some of these people have been reported and measures to decontaminate 23 of them have been taken. "

http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html

[spacerelatives]

The thing I hate about the reporting on this event is how CNN reporters for instance will frequently use their spoon-fed model of what happened at Three Mile Island as a good-case scenario regarding the current crisis. That's without fully examining if TMI was possibly worse than what the Government has told everybody.

My bad, I thought it was reporters jobs to get to the truth of things.

That last story (last link I furnished) sure did bring Karen Silkwood to mind. There was a movie about her played by Meryl Streep. Very interesting. Sad and sickening..but very interesting.


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Theory wrote:I found this site earlier, and it gives a little more info. on the nuke plants and the radiation status in Japan. I get a little confused with all the numbers that pertain to radiation levels, so is 400 millisieverts (mSv) per hour radiation dose something to be concerned with or is it nothing? Heres part of what is on this site, I never heard this in any of the news, but I could have missed it I guess.

"About 150 persons from populations around the Daiichi site have received monitoring for radiation levels. The results of measurements on some of these people have been reported and measures to decontaminate 23 of them have been taken. "

http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsu ... ate01.html

I have read it's the level of radiation absorbed by our internal organs that is the true measure of radiation damage for us. Of course that's not being measured I don't believe.

[amyrene33]

Level of radiation contamination jumped from 3 to 6 from what I just read on yahoo news, Im stocking up on water and canned goods cuz Im pretty sure weve all been thouroughly screwed here, if what they're actually telling us is that bad, imagine what we're not being told by a world government who chooses nondisclosure as a means of social control so frequently.
I mean dont get me wrong, I can certainly understand the need to be cautious as not to create mass panic but even children can most often responsibly handle the most difficult of situations when presented with the truth. Come on really would it be so difficult to say " hey this situation has the possibility to become much worse than expected and you can prepare yourself for that possibility in such manner and hopefully it will turn out better than it looks right now well keep you informed so we can all get through this safely, together" Sure youll have some people to panic but youll have many who are capable of handling the truth and helping those who arent. Sometimes I think no one really knows whats going on and by the time they figure it out its too late. You wont get real truth without searching so its a good thing to have all of you to help seek out the truth and be prepared.

[spacerelatives]

Surprised?

Well, isn't this special...



Japan: Tokyo Electric Power Co. covered up nuclear plant problems

Date: 7 Sep 2002

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) division chiefs ordered the falsification of reports relating to structural problems at nuclear plants, according to company sources.

The managers involved in the cover-ups directly pressured inspectors to falsify reports about the presence of cracks by deleting information and via other means. Tepco has found false reports for five of the 10 reactors at the plants.

Tepco officials have said the coverups may have been motivated chiefly by an increased need to keep up with rising electricity demand during Japan's economic boom in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Following the revelations, the gravity of the crime was underlined when Tepco shut down a reactor in Fu...kushima Prefecture after discovering a radiation leak.

The president and chairman of Tepco are likely to step down to take responsibility for the scandal. Formal announcements of the resignations are expected in mid-September.

Overall, the company is suspected of concealing 29 cases of damage at three nuclear power plants during the 1980s and 1990s. The most serious damage involved cracks in nuclear reactor shrouds. The other cases are not considered to pose safety risks.

Observers said Tepco probably decided on the personnel changes because of the harsh public reaction to recent corporate scandals, including the mislabeling of beef by a subsidiary of Nippon Meat Packers Inc.

Article source: The Japan Times

http://businessrespect.net/page.php?Story_ID=578

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On Three Mile Island...

http://www.tmia.com/march26

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Japan's nuclear power operator has checkered past



SINGAPORE | Sat Mar 12, 2011 10:22am EST

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The company at the center of a nuclear reactor crisis following the biggest earthquake in Japan's recorded history has had a rocky past in an industry plagued by scandal.

The Japanese government said on Saturday that there had been radiation leakage at Tokyo Electric Power's (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi plant following an explosion there.

The blast came as TEPCO was working desperately to reduce pressures in the core of a reactor at the 40-year-old plant, which lies 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

In 2002, the president of the country's largest power utility was forced to resign along with four other senior executives, taking responsibility for suspected falsification of nuclear plant safety records.

The company was suspected of 29 cases involving falsified repair records at nuclear reactors. It had to stop operations at five reactors, including the two damaged in the latest tremor, for safety inspections.

A few years later it ran into trouble again over accusations of falsifying data.

In late 2006, the government ordered TEPCO to check past data after it reported that it had found falsification of coolant water temperatures at its Fukushima Daiichi plant in 1985 and 1988, and that the tweaked data was used in mandatory inspections at the plant, which were completed in October 2005.

And in 2007, TEPCO reported that it had found more past data falsifications, though this time it did not have to close any of its plants.

(Writing by Jonathan Thatcher; Editing by John Chalmers)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/ ... B420110312

[amyrigg]

i've been feeling pretty weird since the end of last year, clogged ears, my neck feels strange - and for a little while now my dogs have been acting weird, the big lab keeps whining and the little min-pin stays glued to my ankle. Watch the earth creatures, they feel, sense, see, hear things we do not. be careful y'all - hold on tight ... i'll be here in NW TN watching (hoping i don't get smashed by some mud geyser bursting up out of the new madrid fault line we live pro'ly 100 miles from, like what happened in the early 1800s). peace on and off the earth and love, lots and lots of love, mitakuye oyasin = we are all related.
oh yeah, btw - here's a link to the u.s. geological service website map that shows earthquake activity in the U.S. and worldwide in the past hour, day, and week ... love ya
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/

[Ace Rimmer]

Our little Schnauzer who sleeps on the bed with us was very restless last night. First thing I thought was an Earthquake is coming! We live on the west coast and near Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier. so we always have volcanos in the back of our minds. If Rainier ever blows, we would get a lahar, mudflow, right through were we live, we live on an old mudflow now, we sure do have rich soil!

Speaking of dogs, they were showing on the news this morning two dogs in Japan who survived, one was very ill and the other was extremely upset and couldn't stop shaking, but the one that was not sick, kept comforting the older sick dog. It was so sad.

[amyrigg]

my daughter's auntie lives in seattle and i was FREAKING out wanting to call her & tell her to get the hell up outta there ~ but my husband told me i was acting crazy and i refrained from calling her, so hopefully if she's supposed to leave, she does it - if she doesn't, obviously she's meant to stay ~ maybe you should pack a bag and have yer li'l schnauzer ready to split and head for - wherever is safe - if earthquakes, volacnoes, and mudflows erupt all over the place out there ... i still feel really weird and apprehensive but not fatalistic - for some like in japan armageddon surely did come last friday - for me ?? i'm just watching ... hoping a new more peaceful balance and nurturing in our human group psych will be opened up with these AMAZING events and energies and the past destructive ways will be left behind more and more. good luck kids i love you

[Ace Rimmer]

We are always ready, well as ready as you can ever be for emergencies. I am actually not feeling too bad about things here, but I sure am worried about the poor Japanese people and their critters.

[spacerelatives]

It has been an awe-inspiring experience to witness the Japanese people in their TV interviews after all of this. I really get the sense of their collective culture in what they prioritize and in how they behave. A lot of dignity. It's beautiful.

Here's an interview with a Japanese lady who exemplifies that calm dignity. I find her very impressive. Very calm.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/ ... cnn?hpt=C2

[Chebornek]

http://www.animatedsoftware.com/environ ... elist1.htm (All current nuclear power plants are critical fission reactors.)

After witnessing the recent events in Japan and (if you're old enough) Chernobyl / 3 Mile Island...this knowledge cannot be comforting at all. While I feel terrible about what has occurred in Japan, I am worried about the trade winds and the Pacific Ocean and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere as well.

This calamity affects a large percentage of humanity, we just don't realize it yet. And the really twisted part is...it does not have to be this way.

[Ace Rimmer]

An ill wind that bloweth no man good.

And in regards to the Japanese people, I am reminded of a Hemingway quote..By "guts" I mean, grace under pressure.

And not only that but the way they are behaving, you wouldn't see that here. Some of us know how to behave ourselves, but very few!

[amyrigg]

it was obviously meant to be cuz it did happen - hopefully ALL of humanity will learn from it, not just the people it affected directly. people don't usually care about anything until it becomes personal - i bet the japanese people come up out of this oh in say like 50 years way better for their ordeal, at least i hope so - mitakuye oyasin = we are all related

[angeloneastralseed]

I'm not sure of the credibility of the 'web bot' but here is supposedly what it has said:

http://theintelhub.com/2010/07/01/web-b ... -accurate/

Bp oil spill AND an ill wind; not necessarily related to each other, just occurring close to each other.

[amyrigg]

HA! Well with SEVEN billion people on the planet i guess losing one point something of those billion isn't TOO bad an average ... i wonder if i'm one of 'em ??? well what i DO know for sure is that i will be dead one day so i'm not too worried about much of anything YAY WE WIN !!! i love you peace kids

[spacerelatives]

I just thought of what the Japanese remind me of in coping so well with everything...The show Northern Exposure. Not Dr. Fleischman but definitely Marilyn Whirlwind, his assistant. Joel would represent the frenetic pace of events sort of like a tsunami while Marilyn would be her stoic, calm self in the midst of whatever comes her way (such as Joel)...haha

[Ace Rimmer]

We should all strive to handle adversity so well, so calm and so stoic.

I don't know enough about the web bots and predicitions to make an intelligent and informed comment.

I was watching CNN at lunchtime. Now it is snowing like an SOB in parts of Japan and still they have got no help from their own government in regards to food or water. It sounds like the USA is the only country over there trying to help out. I did see where China had sent over a lot of food, but jeez, somebody needs to help these people. They showed one big shelter last night that is going to closed by the end of the week..then what!

Seems like the Japanese government is about as helpful as our own is to us in a crisis!

Maybe they should get all the news people together that are over there to do some good for folks.

Also those poor workers at the nuclear plant, how awful to be exposed like that, it is a death sentence for those brave souls. Makes me weep.

[spacerelatives]

It's heart-wrenching, isn't it.

[Ace Rimmer]

This is just overwhelming for these people. If you made this up, nobody would believe all these things could be happening at the same time. I hate to bring this up, but imagine how many dead people and animals must be in some of the piles of rubble, in that respect it is good it is cold there.

[Theory]

I was watching one of the news channels today and they were reporting about how a bunch of people from all over the world were there to help with the search and rescue. Some of the countries they mention were China, New Zealand, and Russia. It is a relief to know we are not the only ones over there helping.

I was thinking about this today, what if the Japanese officials are making sure there are no videos being released that show their people panicking and what not? They got to keep their image in tack right? They are human and I'm sure there are people there that are freaking out...Americans are not the only ones who panic under such circumstances, it is for the most part a normal human reaction.

Metaluna, I was thinking the same thing about the temps, in one way its not good but in another way it is.

[Ace Rimmer]

I'm so glad there are other countries there now, I am just going to go watch CNN.

I actually think the people are calm and collected. We have so many of our news people over there now, they would be seeing something, unrest if there was any. And I am sure they would jump on it in a nano second.

Oy the news Those reactors are going to melt down, sure as sh!t. the US governenment is telling everybody to stay 50 miles away, as are other governments who have people there.The Japanese government is still saying 12 miles.
Really watch the news for a few minutes and you will get such a sick feeling! The Japanese goverment is either blind or the biggest bunch of liars ever. And the onwers of the nuclear plant has been lying about the severity of the situation from the get go! The Japanese Emperor even got on the news he never does that! Atleast he is worried about things.

[Theory]

Not necessarily, if the Japanese officials told them not to film certain things I do not think they would cross them. I think the last thing anyone wants to do is piss them off. If the reporters were here in the U.S or a underdeveloped country then heck yeah they would be all over it. There are some or maybe most are keeping themselves under control, they do have more discipline then we do, but maybe they are still in shock and have yet to feel all the emotions especially since the crisis is not over with yet. When my aunt died I was frozen inside, I didn't cry or anything even at the funeral, but three days later all the emotions came crushing down on me, it was not a good time at all. I mentioned that to show, that just because someone looks cool and collective one minute doesn't mean they are the next minute. I guess it really doesn't matter right now. I just hope the ones who lost everything including their families have someone they can turn to.

[spacerelatives]

There's an internet site that states that simply could not happen. Speaking of the containment vessel leaking radiation.

Guys, I'm long past getting angry about this. But nuclear energy is freakin scary. I'm sorry. This whole thing just sucks.


Yesterday, an explosion caused the containment vessel covering the Number 2 reactor to crack, releasing into the air a surge of radiation 800 times more intense than the recommended hourly exposure limit in Japan. One third of the fuel rods at the reactor were reportedly damaged. In addition, another powerful explosion blew a 26-foot wide hole in the side of Number 4 reactor, causing fires to break out and a pool containing spent fuel rods to begin dangerously overheating.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookou ... ings-stand

And this is the site that says it's impossible that a containment vessel could leak radiation. I read there was no way this could happen.

Barry Brook, on 12 March 2011 at 1:55 PM said:

Paul, thanks, at this stage here are my responses:

1. The generators went out after a hour or so, so I doubt they were flooded. But I don’t know the full situation.

2. No, quite the opposite. They have just performed robustly in the face of the worst earthquake ever to strike the Japanese islands.

The risk of meltdown is extremely small, and the death toll from any such accident, even if it occurred, will be zero. There will be no breach of containment and no release of radioactivity beyond, at the very most, some venting of mildly radioactive steam to relieve pressure. Those spreading FUD at the moment will be the ones left with egg on their faces.

I am happy to be quoted forever after on the above if I am wrong… but I won’t be.

3. The only reactor that has a small probability of being ‘finished’ is FD unit 1. And I doubt that, but it may be offline for a year or more.

4 Yes, they are insured. No, the costs won’t be $50 billion, more like <<$1 billion depending on what needs to be repaired, and this will all be on-site work.

http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/12/j ... arthquake/

[Ace Rimmer]

Not necessarily, if the Japanese officials told them not to film certain things I do not think they would cross them. I think the last thing anyone wants to do is piss them off. If the reporters were here in the U.S or a underdeveloped country then heck yeah they would be all over it. There are some or maybe most are keeping themselves under control, they do have more discipline then we do, but maybe they are still in shock and have yet to feel all the emotions especially since the crisis is not over with yet. When my aunt died I was frozen inside, I didn't cry or anything even at the funeral, but three days later all the emotions came crushing down on me, it was not a good time at all. I mentioned that to show, that just because someone looks cool and collective one minute doesn't mean they are the next minute. I guess it really doesn't matter right now. I just hope the ones who lost everything including their families have someone they can turn to.

You very well could be right Theory, we all know we can't believe everything we see and hear.

Spacerelative, interesting, but I believe this is indeed happening at Fukushima plant.

[amyrigg]

i bet anybody in that area is totally nuked - maybe not to death yet ... but ~
and i'm usually a positive-sort ... i still am peace on and off earth and i love you