Big Fucking Earthquake

[Enemy242]

Shinmoedake has been gurgling and spewing ash all over Kagoshima (two prefectures south of Fukuoka) for a while.

So are Americans panicking about nuclear holocaust now? I haven't been following the news. I don't need to, since everyone on FB and Twitter and this thread is just regurgitating everything that has been reported by any source ever no matter how credible/phony.

And yes, having an emergency kit is always a good idea no matter where you are.

Yes. people are posting videos about the jet stream and how it will bring dangerous radiation and how we're all going to die and that everyone should get a nuclear fallout pack together NOW. also a huge amount of online and offline stores are sold out of potassium iodide and as i said earlier peopl ein the store are trying to get it and don't even know what the fuck they're buying (some people bought a supplement that has potassium with IODINE and other shit like pills that have some KI in it but mostly other shit that they'll megadose on, fucking dumb).

 

[Pessimism]

So lets say the worst possible outcome for the Nuclear plant did see the light of day, how bad would the radiation and all of that be, concerning the rest of Japan? how much radiation could somebody in the south get, for example?

If the radiation released is anything compared to the three mile island incident, it would be equivalent to eating a few bananas; worst case scenario a can of Brazil nuts. If you would like more radiation, Denver is a good place to move too.

That being said, no recent radiation numbers have been released from TEPCO as far as I know. It's truly best to not bother worrying about it, since there is more radiation being emitted from both the volcano and the oil refinery fires.

 

[Moloc]

yeah brah, probably will happen the same day yellowstone blows up

I was going to say the same thing.

 

[Moloc]

However, a lot of scientists have expressed concern that nuclear plants are not being built up to specifications to save money.

That doesn't surprise me.

 

[Saparmurat_Niyazov]

Going back and fourth between CNN and Fox, it's funny/sad/terrible how the situation with the Japanese nuclear power plants is being framed. CNN, on one hand, is saying "There's nothing to worry about. It's not even as bad as 3 Mile Island". Of course, Fox has the fear mongering turned up to 11: "THIS IS WORSE THAN CHERNOBYL! GIANT PLUMES OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE ARE GOING TO FLOAT ACROSS THE OCEAN AND MELT EVERYONE IN AMERICA'S FACE OFF, AND THEN GODZILLA WILL RISE FROM THE WAVES TO FINISH OFF ANY SURVIVORS!!!!". I hate living in a country where there is not even one reputable news organization. No wonder most Americans are completely ignorant.

 

[Matt]

MSNBC is superior to both CNN and Fox. It's true.

 

[supseudonymous]

MSNBC is superior to both CNN and Fox. It's true.

Which is inferior to both NPR and Aljazeera.
Cable news is fucked.

 

[Cythraul]

Going back and fourth between CNN and Fox, it's funny/sad/terrible how the situation with the Japanese nuclear power plants is being framed. CNN, on one hand, is saying "There's nothing to worry about. It's not even as bad as 3 Mile Island". Of course, Fox has the fear mongering turned up to 11: "THIS IS WORSE THAN CHERNOBYL! GIANT PLUMES OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE ARE GOING TO FLOAT ACROSS THE OCEAN AND MELT EVERYONE IN AMERICA'S FACE OFF, AND THEN GODZILLA WILL RISE FROM THE WAVES TO FINISH OFF ANY SURVIVORS!!!!". I hate living in a country where there is not even one reputable news organization. No wonder most Americans are completely ignorant.

How is CNN's "framing" of this issue problematic? I've been watching all day and it looks to me like they're being pretty level-headed about it. And it's not really even them. It's the people they're interviewing that are "framing" the issue in this way, and the people they're interviewing seem to be in broad agreement with the emerging consensus among experts on this (at least that was the case last time I checked other sources.) I don't recall anybody saying that there's nothing to worry about at all.

MSNBC is superior to both CNN and Fox. It's true.

Yeah, my favorite thing about MSNBC is watching all those chest-thumping ideologues that come on every night and counting all the logical fallacies they routinely commit. It's fun; you should try it sometime. Oh wait, I forgot, "liberalism" is another word for objective reality. Nevermind.

 

[Saparmurat_Niyazov]

MSNBC is superior to both CNN and Fox. It's true.

MSNBC is the just the opposite side of same coin which Fox News is on.

How is CNN's "framing" of this issue problematic? I've been watching all day and it looks to me like they're being pretty level-headed about it. And it's not really even them. It's the people they're interviewing that are "framing" the issue in this way, and the people they're interviewing seem to be in broad agreement with the emerging consensus among experts on this (at least that was the case last time I checked other sources.) I don't recall anybody saying that there's nothing to worry about at all.



Yeah, my favorite thing about MSNBC is watching all those chest-thumping ideologues that come on every night and counting all the logical fallacies they routinely commit. It's fun; you should try it sometime. Oh wait, I forgot, "liberalism" is another word for objective reality. Nevermind.

I fear that CNN is downplaying the real dangers, while Fox is just fabricating shit to drum up fear and paranoia. Like sup said, cable news is fucked. And your point about MSNBC reinforces what I said about them: they are just like Fox, except coming from the left instead of the right.

 

[Cythraul]

I honestly don't see how they're downplaying the real dangers. That's really not what I took away from watching today. If you know something about this nuclear issue that I don't then feel free to post a link to a reliable source about it.

 

[Saparmurat_Niyazov]

I'm not an expert on nuclear energy, so of course I don't know precisely what's happening. But trying to compare this incident to 3 Mile Island and Chernobyl just seems inappropriate, considering the unique circumstances of this incident. It should be approached as something that is somewhat unprecedented.

 

[supseudonymous]

I'm not an expert on nuclear energy, so of course I don't know precisely what's happening. But trying to compare this incident to 3 Mile Island and Chernobyl just seems inappropriate, considering the unique circumstances of this incident. It should be approached as something that is somewhat unprecedented.

Although the circumstances which lead to this event are unique, what makes the actual event so much so that it can't be related to 3 Mile Island and Chernobyl in order to allow us some historical context? So long as the media doesn't exaggerate the commonalities I don't see a problem.

 

[Pessimism]

So, I spent all day figuring out shit for my final at 7pm, and when I get home I get this lovely message about everything going straight to hell on facebook. I guess something happened and radiation spiked (not sure how high) at reactor 2 (not sure if it was 2 or 4 honestly). I'm not sure if anyone mentioned a containment breach or not - in fact I am totally behind on todays events. It may be possible everything went to shit though, so I'll see if I can figure it out.

The reason why TMI was an apt comparison was because the partial meltdown was caused by an inability to cool the fuel rods (damaged valve system). The exact reason the reactors have had problems was because it was/is a pain in the ass to cool down the fuel rods with a damaged coolant system. On top of that, there was very little radiation released, which so far has been entirely true of the situation in Japan. The main difference between the two events however is that these were hit by a god damn 9.0 and then a tsunami. Hopefully in the future they will strengthen the overall design of the cooling systems and the backup generators to power that cooling system (tsunami did a number on the diesel generators). I would figure getting hit with the 4th/5th most powerful quake to hit a civilized world would actually demonstrate the safety precautions that were taken, especially since these reactors were originally built to only withstand a 7.0.

Chernobyl was a necessary comparison because that was all the over-hyped news was talking about.

Now, I am off to figure out what the fuck happened at reactor 2






On the topic of media: Finland was overblowing the fuck out of everything from the get-go, before anything had happened to reactor 2. Der Spiegel have been making some of the most sensational statements so far - unfortunately they may have a legitimate claim now if everything at 2 is as bad as I've heard. MSNBC and that one feisty bitch that works for them have been awful. BBC has been mixed, with BBC world doing a very good job, and local BBC being terrible. I haven't seen an Al Jazeera or NHK broadcast yet. NHK is currently suffering from bad translations from what I hear, but at least they are trying. TPM has been doing a relatively good job last time I checked (around 8am). Fox is a fucking joke, and CNN... well, it depends on the anchor.

 

[Valerie]

A guy from High on Fire was on the local news, the band was in Japan during the earthquake. Coincidentally, they were also in Christchurch during that quake.

 

[Pessimism]

Obviously we need to crucify this band, they bring terrible things with them wherever they go.

I don't care if their last album was highly rated!

 

[ArneZ]

Well, 2012 is close. That most be the reason.

 

[damnromulans]

Shiiiit.

My island is still totally normal, but people all over Kanto and Tohoku are stockpiling groceries. Facebook Japan had a warning on the front page earlier tonight urging people to curb the hoarding, and my friends over there are sending pictures of empty supermarket shelves. Schools have stopped serving school lunches and people are being told not to flush toilets.

 

[panzerfaust666]

Shiiiit.

My island is still totally normal, but people all over Kanto and Tohoku are stockpiling groceries. Facebook Japan had a warning on the front page earlier tonight urging people to curb the hoarding, and my friends over there are sending pictures of empty supermarket shelves. Schools have stopped serving school lunches and people are being told not to flush toilets.

same deal for Kyoto, sista

oh p.s., another aftershock; 6.0., in Shizouka Pref.

 

[damnromulans]

as in Kyoto is freaking out or Kyoto is oddly normal?

how long are you here for?

 

[panzerfaust666]

Kyoto is completely calm and as if nothing happened.

well, i came on the 14th of February and am scheduled to leave on the 21st. We were actually just in Fukuoka! Well not really just, but fairly recently. Nice city ya got there