http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42083890/ns/world_news-asia-pacific/ Panic grips Tokyo as radiation levels rise France advises citizens to leave city; China organizes mass evacuations from northeast Below: x Jump to text Panic swept Tokyo on Tuesday as radiation levels surged there, causing … text x Jump to interactive Japan before and after the disaster interactive x Jump to explainer The 10 deadliest earthquakes in recorded history explainer x Jump to discussion comments below .discussion x Next story in Asia-Pacific What you need to know about the Japan disaster related .Advertise | AdChoices.Video: Survivor: 'The next generation will build us back' Open in new window More from Asia-Pacific Rescue teams continue frantic search for survivors US military expands Japan relief efforts Radiation reality check Nuclear physicist: 'This is a regional problem' New fire erupts at Fukushima plant .Most popular videos on msnbc.com Radiation leaks from Japan nuke plant At least 15,000 people missing in Japan Quake brings radiation worries on US West Coast Scientist: Japanese plant workers in danger How will wind affect radiation cloud? .More from:TODAYNightly NewsMeet the PressDatelineMorning JoeHardballThe Last WordRachel Maddowmsnbc tvSearch Show more videos Closed captioning of: Survivor: 'The next generation will build us back'Advertise | AdChoices>>> we have a final story tonight about resilience and strength. through these stories that have come out of this tragedy in japan , americans are learning a lot about the japanese people and their character. and so our final report tonight comes from nbc's ann curry . >> reporter: home from the evacuation center for the first time today. tatso and his wife were shocked so much was ruined, first by the earthquake. and then by five feet of water. but they didn't wait for outside help. she says everyone is the same fp fp. he adds, i want to get this work over so i can help others. five days into this disaster, a spirit of self-ref lie answer is evident everywhere. helping augment the short water supply , neighbors boil snow they trucked down from nearby mountains. they make chop sticks by hand using bamboo they gather themselves, making even cups and bowls. for people who have lost everything, at this evacuation center — what do you not have enough of to take care of these people? they need food, heat and doctors. balls of rice are brought in by local women. and the elderly who run out of medicines are closely watched over and kept warm. rarely has a nation so powerful been this vulnerable. [ sobbing ] >> reporter: having lost so much, japan appears as broken as its landscape. but it is not. this couple says we are old, but we expect the next generation will build us back even better. ann curry , nbc news in japan . Show transcript NBC, msnbc.com and news services NBC, msnbc.com and news services updated 1 hour 34 minutes ago 2011-03-15T23:15:37 Share Print Font: +-TOKYO — Panic swept Tokyo on Tuesday as radiation levels surged there, causing some to leave the capital and others to stock up on food and supplies before levels dropped again by evening. Japan earthquake Updated 1 minutes ago 3/16/2011 12:48:26 AM +00:00 Fire flares at nuke unit with spent fuel, reactor Millions in Japan struggle without electricity, heat Updated 94 minutes ago 3/15/2011 11:15:37 PM +00:00 Panic grips Tokyo as radiation levels rise Japan radioactivity could enter food chain Woman, 70, found alive 4 days after tsunami Updated 44 minutes ago 3/16/2011 12:05:32 AM +00:00 Rescue teams continue frantic search for survivors . Time-lapse of aftershocks . Images of chaos, destruction . ..The spike came after a third explosion in four days rocked the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi plant earlier Tuesday. Several embassies advised staff and citizens to leave affected areas, tourists cut short vacations and multinational companies either urged staff to leave or said they were considering plans to move outside Tokyo. Japan told the International Atomic Energy Agency that a spent fuel storage pond caught fire at a reactor and radioactivity had been "released directly into the atmosphere." The blaze was later extinguished and the U.N. nuclear watchdog later said radioactivity levels near the nuclear site fell during a six-hour period on Tuesday. Clearing up nuclear questions Officials in Tokyo — 150 miles to the south of the plant — said radiation in the capital was 10 times normal by evening but there was no threat to human health. Around eight hours after the explosion, the U.N. weather agency said winds were dispersing radioactive material over the Pacific Ocean, away from Japan and other Asian countries. Radiation levels in Saitama, near Tokyo, were 40 times normal levels — not enough to cause human damage but enough to stoke panic in the bustling metropolis of about 12 million people. Video: At least 15,000 people missing in Japan Still, the French Embassy in Tokyo advised its citizens to leave the Japanese capital. The U.S. government advised Americans to avoid travel to Japan. Austria moved its embassy from Tokyo to Osaka. China became the first government to organize a mass evacuation of its citizens from Japan's northeast. Air China and China Eastern Airlines also canceled flights to Tokyo and two cities in the disaster area. German airline Lufthansa started scanning aircraft returning from Japan for radioactivity, NBC News reported. "This is a precautionary measure for us," a spokesman said. Advertise | AdChoicesRadiation levels also rose slightly in Russia's Far East on Tuesday but stayed within normal levels, local officials said. Russia's military said it was on alert to evacuate people if required from Russia's Sakhalin island, whose southernmost tip is visible from northern Japan, Interfax news agency reported. Shopping frenzy In Tokyo, canned goods, batteries, bread and bottled water vanished from store shelves and long lines of cars circled gas stations as the nuclear crisis set off panic-buying. Disaster at a glance Size, magnitude A massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake — fifth largest since 1900 — struck at 2:46 p.m. local time Friday (12:46 a.m. ET), centered approximately 100 miles east of Sendai city on Japan’s main island, Honshu. Tsunami The quake generated a tsunami of at least 23 feet that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland in Japan. Smaller swells struck other Pacific Rim countries and even the United States, causing serious but far less extensive damage. Casualties Police have confirmed approximately 3,300 deaths, but government officials have estimated that at least 10,000 people have been killed. Nuclear plants The fuel rods at three nuclear reactors at the Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Dai-ichi plant are believed to be in various stages of melting, and a spent fuel pool at a fourth reactor has been damaged and was leaking radioactivity. Authorities have ordered the evacuation of a 19-mile radius around the plant. Other impacts Transportation and communications systems were largely paralyzed and large swaths of the country remain without power — estimates range from 1.2 million to 4 million households. Rolling blackouts have been imposed to conserve power around Tokyo and northern Honshu. Some commodities, including gas, are scarce. The Japanese government estimates that 1.4 million households have no access to safe drinking water. .Far outside the disaster zone, stores were running out of necessities, raising government fears that hoarding may hurt the delivery of emergency food aid to those who really need it. The frenzied buying has compounded supply problems from damaged and congested roads, stalled factories, reduced train service and other disruptions caused by Friday's earthquake and tsunami. Tourists such as Christy Niver, of Egan, Minn., said they had had enough and were leaving. Her 10-year-old daughter, Lucy, was more emphatic. "I'm scared. I'm so scared I would rather be in the eye of a tornado," she said. "I want to leave." Even in the western city of Hiroshima, which was untouched by the disaster, stores are running out of batteries and the media was warning people not to hoard, a local government official said. U.S. banking giant Citigroup said it was keeping workers in Tokyo informed but there were no evacuation orders, said a spokesman, adding the bank was closely following guidance by the U.S. Embassy. Some international journalists covering the disaster from the worst-hit region around the northeastern city of Sendai were pulling out. One scientist, however, urged people in Tokyo to stay calm. "Radioactive material will reach Tokyo but it is not harmful to human bodies because it will be dissipated by the time it gets to Tokyo," said Koji Yamazaki, professor at Hokkaido University graduate school of environmental science. Advertise | AdChoices"If the wind gets stronger, it means the material flies faster but it will be even more dispersed in the air." Hundreds of aftershocks have shaken Japan's northeast and Tokyo since the original offshore quake, including one Tuesday night whose epicenter was hundreds of miles (kilometers) southwest and inland. Some wanted the government to expand the 18 mile evacuation zone surrounding the nuclear plant. "The evacuation zone may not be enough," said a scientist who treats nuclear radiation victims. Story: Japan radioactivity could enter food chain, kids at risk "The main lasting effect will probably be in milk produce and the radiation in milk because the cows go around like vacuum cleaners and absorb the radiation spread over a wide range," said the expert, who declined to be identified. "Those particles are easily transferred into the milk, which is in turn easily absorbed by babies and children." In a rare bit of good news, rescuers found two survivors Tuesday in the rubble left by the tsunami that hit the northeast, including a 70-year-old woman whose house was tossed off its foundation. Reuters, The Associated Press, msnbc.com staff and NBC News' Andy Eckardt and Robert Bazell contributed to this report. .Interactive: Japan before and after the disaster These aerial photos show locations in Japan before and after the 8.9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that struck on Friday, March 11. Use the slider below the images to reveal the changes in the landscape. Google / GeoEye123456789101112131415161718192021See beforeFujitsuka in Sendai Explainer: The 10 deadliest earthquakes in recorded history previous next .1: Shensi, China, Jan. 23, 1556 .2: Tangshan, China, July 27, 1976 .3: Aleppo, Syria, Aug. 9, 1138 .4: Sumatra, Indonesia, Dec. 26, 2004 .5: Haiti, Jan 12, 2010 .6: Damghan, Iran, Dec. 22, 856 .7: Haiyuan, Ningxia , China, Dec. 16, 1920 .8: Ardabil, Iran, March. 23, 893 .9: Kanto, Japan, Sept. 1, 1923 .10: Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 5, 1948 ..Show more itemsA look at the worst earthquakes in recorded history, in loss of human life. (These figures do not include the March 11, 2011, temblor off eastern Japan, the death toll of which is still not known.) Sources: United States Geological Survey, Encyclopedia Britannica .1: Shensi, China, Jan. 23, 1556 Magnitude about 8, about 830,000 deaths. This earthquake occurred in the Shaanxi province (formerly Shensi), China, about 50 miles east-northeast of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi. More than 830,000 people are estimated to have been killed. Damage extended as far away as about 270 miles northeast of the epicenter, with reports as far as Liuyang in Hunan, more than 500 miles away. Geological effects reported with this earthquake included ground fissures, uplift, subsidence, liquefaction and landslides. Most towns in the damage area reported city walls collapsed, most to all houses collapsed and many of the towns reported ground fissures with water gushing out. 1: Shensi, China, Jan. 23, 1556 Magnitude about 8, about 830,000 deaths. This earthquake occurred in the Shaanxi province (formerly Shensi), China, about 50 miles east-northeast of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi. More than 830,000 people are estimated to have been killed. Damage extended as far away as about 270 miles northeast of the epicenter, with reports as far as Liuyang in Hunan, more than 500 miles away. Geological effects reported with this earthquake included ground fissures, uplift, subsidence, liquefaction and landslides. Most towns in the damage area reported city walls collapsed, most to all houses collapsed and many of the towns reported ground fissures with water gushing out. .Advertise | AdChoices2: Tangshan, China, July 27, 1976 Keystone / Getty Images 1976: Workers start rebuilding work following earthquake damage in the Chinese city of Tangshan, 100 miles east of Pekin, with a wrecked train carriage behind them. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images) Magnitude 7.5. Official casualty figure is 255,000 deaths. Estimated death toll as high as 655,000. Damage extended as far as Beijing. This is probably the greatest death toll from an earthquake in the last four centuries, and the second greatest in recorded history. .3: Aleppo, Syria, Aug. 9, 1138 Magnitude not known, about 230,000 deaths. Contemporary accounts said the walls of Syria’s second-largest city crumbled and rocks cascaded into the streets. Aleppo’s citadel collapsed, killing hundreds of residents. Although Aleppo was the largest community affected by the earthquake, it likely did not suffer the worst of the damage. European Crusaders had constructed a citadel at nearby Harim, which was leveled by the quake. A Muslim fort at Al-Atarib was destroyed as well, and several smaller towns and manned forts were reduced to rubble. The quake was said to have been felt as far away as Damascus, about 220 miles to the south. The Aleppo earthquake was the first of several occurring between 1138 and 1139 that devastated areas in northern Syria and western Turkey. .4: Sumatra, Indonesia, Dec. 26, 2004 Getty Images / Getty Images MEULABOH, INDONESIA – DECEMBER 29: In this handout photo taken from a print via the Indonesian Air Force, the scene of devastation in Meulaboh, the town closest to the Sunday's earthquake epicentre, is pictured from the air on December 29, 2004, Meulaboh, Aceh Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. The western coastal town in Aceh Province, only 60 kilometres north-east of the epicentre, has been the hardest hit by sunday's underwater earthquake in the Indian Ocean. Officials expected to find at least 10,000 killed which would amount to a quarter of Meulaboh's population. Three-quarters of Sumatra's western coast was destroyed and some towns were totally wiped out after the tsunamis that followed the earthquake. (Photo by Indonesian Air Force via Getty Images) Magnitude 9.1, 227,898 deaths. This was the third largest earthquake in the world since 1900 and the largest since the 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska temblor. In total, 227,898 people were killed or were missing and presumed dead and about 1.7 million people were displaced by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 14 countries in South Asia and East Africa. (In January 2005, the death toll was 286,000. In April 2005, Indonesia reduced its estimate for the number missing by over 50,000.) .Advertise | AdChoices5: Haiti, Jan 12, 2010 Jean-philippe Ksiazek / AFP/Getty Images Haitians walk through collapsed buildings near the iron market in Port-au-Prince on January 31, 2010. Quake-hit Haiti will need at least a decade of painstaking reconstruction, aid chiefs and donor nations warned, as homeless, scarred survivors struggled today to rebuild their lives. AFP PHOTO / JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK (Photo credit should read JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AFP/Getty Images) Magnitude 7.0. According to official estimates, 222,570 people killed. According to official estimates, 300,000 were also injured, 1.3 million displaced, 97,294 houses destroyed and 188,383 damaged in the Port-au-Prince area and in much of southern Haiti. This includes at least 4 people killed by a local tsunami in the Petit Paradis area near Leogane. Tsunami waves were also reported at Jacmel, Les Cayes, Petit Goave, Leogane, Luly and Anse a Galets. .6: Damghan, Iran, Dec. 22, 856 Magnitude not known, about 200,000 deaths. This earthquake struck a 200-mile stretch of northeast Iran, with the epicenter directly below the city of Demghan, which was at that point the capital city. Most of the city was destroyed as well as the neighboring areas. Approximately 200,000 people were killed. .7: Haiyuan, Ningxia , China, Dec. 16, 1920 7.8 magnitude, about 200,000 deaths. This earthquake brought total destruction to the Lijunbu-Haiyuan-Ganyanchi area. Over 73,000 people were killed in Haiyuan County. A landslide buried the village of Sujiahe in Xiji County. More than 30,000 people were killed in Guyuan County. Nearly all the houses collapsed in the cities of Longde and Huining. About 125 miles of surface faulting was seen from Lijunbu through Ganyanchi to Jingtai. There were large numbers of landslides and ground cracks throughout the epicentral area. Some rivers were dammed, others changed course. .Advertise | AdChoices8: Ardabil, Iran, March. 23, 893 Magnitude not known, about 150,000 deaths The memories of the massive Damghan earthquake (see above) had barely faded when only 37 years later, Iran was again hit by a huge earthquake. This time it cost 150,000 lives and destroyed the largest city in the northwestern section of the country. The area was again hit by a fatal earthquake in 1997. .9: Kanto, Japan, Sept. 1, 1923 Hulton Archive / Getty Images 1923: High-angle view of earthquake and fire damage on Hongokucho Street and the Kanda District, taken from the Yamaguchi Bank building after the Kanto earthquake, Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) 7.9 magnitude, 142,800 deaths. This earthquake brought extreme destruction in the Tokyo-Yokohama area, both from the temblor and subsequent firestorms, which burned about 381,000 of the more than 694,000 houses that were partially or completely destroyed. Although often known as the Great Tokyo Earthquake (or the Great Tokyo Fire), the damage was most severe in Yokohama. Nearly 6 feet of permanent uplift was observed on the north shore of Sagami Bay and horizontal displacements of as much as 15 feet were measured on the Boso Peninsula. .10: Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 5, 1948 7.3 magnitude, 110,000 deaths. This quake brought extreme damage in Ashgabat (Ashkhabad) and nearby villages, where almost all the brick buildings collapsed, concrete structures were heavily damaged and freight trains were derailed. Damage and casualties also occurred in the Darreh Gaz area in neighboring Iran. Surface rupture was observed both northwest and southeast of Ashgabat. Many sources list the casualty total at 10,000, but a news release from the newly independent government on Dec. 9, 1988, advised that the correct death toll was 110,000. (Turkmenistan had been part of the Soviet Union, which tended to downplay the death tolls from man-made and natural disasters.) . leave city; China organizes mass evacuations from northeast “ STOP THE STUPID HYPE! There is NO general panic in Tokyo, where I live. Yes, people are uneasy about the situation, and yes, some are starting to hoard non-perishable foods such as cup noodles and are hoarding toilet paper. But they did the same when we had the oil shocks in the 70s. There is plenty of other food available, and life is going on fairly normally under the circumstances. Rolling electricity outages are scheduled, and some electric railway transportation is curtailed to help divert energy to the disaster areas up north. But life goes on, the people are resilient, they have lived through many tragedies over the years, and they will overcome this crisis. ” Expand Collapse JBow-1472094, with 30Reply “ Well what can you say about the people of Japan but, Classy. What discipline. No one preying on the other guy, people waiting in line quietly, patiently, no one yelling and screaming, no looting, people sharing with each other. The world can learn a lesson from the model of civility the Japanese people are showing the world. This is how you deal with a catastrophe and how to treat each other. They will overcome this albeit it will be some years before they are back to normal. Not exactly the picture that comes to mind when I think of behavior following Katrina. ” Expand Collapse Doc-1646975, with 23Reply “ I think this is an exaggeration. Tokyoites do NOT panic. People are buying things to be prepared and to be responsible. I think this headline and story are irresponsible journalism, it will cause unneeded fear for those who have family and friends in Tokyo. ” Expand Collapse homesick yank, with 19 OVER 500 KOMMENTARER Understating the Nuclear Meltdown issue is the biggest coverup I have seen in this entire crisis, and that is NOT to downplay the horrific toll taken on the Japanese people whatsoever. $4/gallon gas seems trivial now, doesn't it. God Help Us All. 15 votes#1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:46 AM EDT Bruce-308647 Yesterday early evening I watched a so-called nuclear expert emphatically stating that these containment structures are made to withstand a total meltdown without leaking and that there is absolutely no danger of widespread radiation as happened at Chernobyl. He also went on and on about how "meltdown" is a nuclear industry term which simply means that the fuel rods burn up because they cannot be cooled, but again, the containment structure is FULLY capable of handling a complete meltdown without damage. Less than an hour later, the same station was reporting a breaking story that there had been another explosion, and that experts were now stating that the containment structure had been breeched and that harmful levels of radiation are now leaking into the atmosphere. Amazing how an "expert" can be proven totally wrong in less than an hour. It just shows how little we humans REALLY understand about anything. Our "experts" continually get it wrong on a myriad of topics, and yet we continue to believe we are in control of things. 23 votes#1.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:31 AM EDT US.GOVERNMENT 1. Panic selling 2. Markets crashing 3. Insurance companies have to pay out making economy fall even more 4. Years down the road, carcinoma's associated with radiation poisoning 5. People sue government because of not evacuating tokyo in time 6. Volcano erupts. 9 votes#1.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:33 AM EDT JBow-1472094 You need to get your head checked. 11 votes#1.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:39 AM EDT S-480203 MSNBC needs to learn that just because they make the words bigger in 288 point font, doesn't change the facts. You'll get more radiation in the upper atmosphere flying to Paris then you would on the ground in Tokyo. Sorry journalist, not everyone is so gullible or as stupid as the writers of this article. 27 votes#1.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:02 AM EDT sagacious1 If you want to talk about facts why don't you get yours straight? The average airline pilot receives 250 millirem of radiation annually. This reactor is spewing 400 millisieverts or 40,000 millirem per hour. I wouldn't stay if I were there. 11 votes#1.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:17 AM EDT joe wobblie Comment collapsed by the community Japanese nukes are exploding like Chinese firecrackers! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Way to go, Tokyo! Have a Great Day! 1 vote#1.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:41 AM EDT Sanescience Maybe this will hasten the decommissioning of the old style reactors that have none of the intrinsic safety features developed over the last 40 years and we can build updated fast neutron reactors that not only use passive cooled sodium pools (no power needed) and heat-expansive cladding fuel rods that can stop reactions even if all coolant is drained out of the reactor… But can extract the other 99% of the energy in uranium and "burns up" the long live dangerous actinides (like plutonium) so we only have to store small amounts of low grade waste for decades in stead of large volumes of long lived highly dangerous waste. It is a real bummer that so many of these nuclear power plants without intrinsic safety systems are still around, we should have been replacing them for a long time now, but over-zealous environmentalism basically froze nuclear power plant replacement process 40 years ago, so now we are stuck with these dinosaur plants that are dangerous. And whenever circumstances arise that these obviously dangerous plants are shown to be dangerous, the same people who left us stuck with them cry about how they are dangerous and we should stop development of nuclear power. Thanks a lot for nothing! 15 votes#1.7 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:23 AM EDT FLYARMY Thank you sanescience, words of reason. You would think MSNBC would have an inside line to GE to ALL the facts straight, but then GE built most of the obsolete facilities. Why do we not have the time to build it right the first time when we have the time to rebuild it four or more times? ALL Governments are the same, political correctness has replaced function and logic. 12 votes#1.8 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:21 AM EDT SJC-1437429 Old nuclear reactors are somewhat like old coal fired power plants with a more severe downside. The owners want to keep making money off of them and the people would like something more rational. We are stuck in the middle. 5 votes#1.9 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:03 PM EDT scales67 Sanescience – you need to do more research regarding the technology to which you are referring. It has its own set of safety issues, which is one reason why there has been a delay in implementing it. 2 votes#1.10 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:18 PM EDT Mempho Quick.. let's send Congress to Fukushima personally to check out the safety of Nuke Power. 7 votes#1.11 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:33 PM EDT Monkey@Keyboard Regardless of what the real science says about safety, the average person doesn't trust nuclear, especially when it doesn't appear it can be controlled. Perception is king, and the industry needs to be hyper vigilant about safety and about upgrading facilities so safety is never seen as an issue. Otherwise, you'll get constituents who can barely do algebra who misunderstand the industry and won't politically back it. And no amount of PR can overcome even a low level nuclear cloud. 2 votes#1.12 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:38 PM EDT retired '08 This horrific event should be a wake-up call to those supporting the nuclear reactors. One observation is that no matter how many safety features, there's always something destined to go wrong and threaten life. Isn't it time for the US to seriously deal with this issue? Europe has been taking alternative energy sources with tremendous commitment. There's a nuclear reactor on the San Andreas fault in CA. Is anybody concerned? Does anybody really care? 2 votes#1.13 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:03 PM EDT Danger-2529265 Really? US has 104 Nuclear reactors. France has 58 in a country that is smaller than the state of texas. Found this out in about 2 minutes of google searches. It seems to me that the alternate energy of Europe is Nuclear 2 votes#1.14 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:27 PM EDT Geowil @Bruce Situations change, some people can not seem to grasp this concept. Also it was not the actual "containment vessel" that was ruptured but the supply pool that supplies the coolant, or what ever they decide to pump into the reactor, to the pumps. @sagacious your link? From all I have read the highest reading was much lower, just over 11,000 microsieverts (or 11 milisieverts). 2 votes#1.15 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:46 PM EDT Bruce-297800 This article is Total Buuuull Sheeet!!!! There is NO panic in Tokyo. NBC news sucks. 5 votes#1.16 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:02 PM EDT D.Man Notice how the NRC stated that no "harmful levels" of radiation will reach the U.S.? The central and northern coasts of the US will likely be exposed to some form of radiation, specifically the northwest because of all of the rainfall they receive. If it's being picked up 100 miles out at sea yesterday, and will be venting for the foreseeable future at higher levels, I don't see how it cant hit the US. $hit,,,we pick up extra rads in the US when India detonates an underground nuke… While these levels will be minimal and likely not harmful…..try telling that to all the potential homebuyers in that part of the country. I can't even begin to imagine what this is going to do to the real estate market on the west coast. After all, perception is reality. A professor on TV calmly talking about acceptable millirem levels of exposure will have ZERO affect on a new housewife in calming her fears about buying areas within the fallout zones. And that's a fact. 1 vote#1.17 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:05 PM EDT Paul West-541891 None of the 6 "Experts" can agree on the level of threat posed by the facility. News networks are making it up as they go along. Fabricating News to sell insurance and pharmaceuticals. The only "melt-down" in our future is the Media. No one reports facts anymore…they just make up headlines and use so-called "experts" to validate the fabrications….amazing… 6 votes#1.18 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:08 PM EDT notsojingo Nuclear pollution doesn't just sort of disappear and turn back into some neutral carbon-based dust. It will permeate the Man, Woman, and Child as well as the entire food chain over land and sea whereever it goes. Mercury and Corexit in fish? Don't worry about that anymore! No Nukes are Good Nukes. And I absolutely understand how much Electric Energy is and has been produced by the plants worldwide. As Man Believes he is closer to being as Smart as God, the Further he Is. Peace #1.19 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:17 PM EDT moonbeamracer The containment vessels are well engineered, and will not fail …. the Japanese bet their lives on it …. look at the devastation created by the earthquake & tsunami …. compared to damage done to the nuclear facilities .. there is no comparison .. the radiation is whats scaring everyone .. most don't even know what a "meltdown" really means … 2 votes#1.20 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:27 PM EDT saxon I spoke about 30 minutes ago with a good friend in Australia, his company has a large office in Tokyo; he is in constant communication with them; THERE IS NO PANIC, no one is running around screaming, people are stocking up on essentials, they are very concerned but not in a state of panic; Media sensationalism , it is a insult ! 3 votes#1.21 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:42 PM EDT C. Smith Radiation levels are 10x higher than normal? Dear God, that's the end of the world, isn't it? That's as bad as sound levels being 10x higher than ambient sound! … or 20 dB! This isn't news. This is fear-mongering at it's worst. There's natural radiation all around you, and it's nothing compared to dangerous levels. 10x that is more, yes, but it's still nothing. It really is about as dangerous to your health as 20dB is to your hearing. 3 votes#1.22 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:13 PM EDT chris-1189701 There are different types of people. Those that prepare for a possible evacuation and those that keep on saying everything is all right. Take Katrina for example. They had 3 days notice, most stayed, false alarms were common. There were those who packed and were ready to flee and beat the panicked herd out of town. Look at post 911. U.S. gov said air was safe yet people in NY city still die yes even today of many medical problems, lung etc and blame the fragmented particles that covered the city when the towers came down. The governments position was we can't have everybody fleeing who will pay the taxes what will happen to our jobs. Well if China is evacuating certain parts of the mainland it would be wise for all to have a game plan to run to the hills. 2 votes#1.23 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:27 PM EDT .Bob-796276 The Japan government in my opinion is down playing this situation from going to controlled chaos to total chaos. I don't believe for a second that radiation levels are anywhere near acceptable and will only get worse not only in Japan but nearby countries as well if not the entire planet. I think God is looking at not only this, but the entire world, and placing both arms on his chair and saying, "That's it, I've had enough". 6 votes#2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:56 AM EDT JBow-1472094 Give your God more credit. 20 votes#2.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:40 AM EDT Erika-2737673 I agree Bob-796276. Humans have pushed him too far. 4 votes#2.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:57 AM EDT JBow-1472094 Are you calling him a wimp? 5 votes#2.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:29 AM EDT joe wobblie Erika-273666 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. Psalms 137:9 1 vote#2.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:51 AM EDT FLYARMY Bob, It is pretty arrogant to claim to know what God is thinking, are you thinking about starting your own religion now that you have reached this status? 10 votes#2.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:26 AM EDT Hannah-2721721 I believe ALL governments lie and in this case it is the Japanese. We will go along with them because if we don't it will cause Wall Street to implode. Pity. Thank you. 2 votes#2.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:33 AM EDT John-1481207 Bob you're more wacked out that all the fools on here blaming enviromentalist for all this. All you pro nuclear fools just need to shut your stupid pie holes adovacating more reactors at least till we know how this is going to play out as it get worse by the hour. I'm not aganist nuclear power but all you "experts" sure have some explaining to do and how you are going to control these plant if we build more. Don't tell me you already have the plans because something like this has never happened before and this situation needs to be taken into account BEFORE we proceed with more nuclear power in the USA. 5 votes#2.7 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:57 AM EDT Ophelia 13 Of course leaders and experts are going to downplay what's really happening even if the risk is small, they don't want to cause panic and hysterics by telling people they are in danger. So they'll set up radiation check points all over and test everyone that passes through an area for radiation levels. There are already hundreds who have been exposed, even if that exposure is small, they've still been exposed. My opinion is this, if there is nothing for the "common" people to worry about, why is everyone with some kind of authority geared up with radiation suits and gas masks? 4 votes#2.8 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:35 PM EDT Geowil Ophelia, do you understand how radiation from non-solid material works? It is only its strongest at the source of the leak, meaning the plants. Obviously they will need radiation suits to work near the reactor that is leaking. But the further out the radiation travels the less radioactive it is. This is because there is no reactor fuel within this radiation we are seeing now, if there was Tokyo and other surrounding areas would be seeing much, much hire and consistent readings. The current situation cause only about a 4 to 8 hours raise in the radiation detected, which was still below harmful levels in Tokyo, and then it began to decrease after that time. This means there is no uranium in the air. This is also why we will only see a very small amount of radiation reach us in the US if it does make it here. The experts are called experts for a reason, they all went to college or universities and majored in this stuff. I now that greater education is the devil in some people's eyes but they know what they are talking about. If they are lying they are doing it to save lives from the panic that would ensue. Also I would like to point out that out of 180,000 people only about 200 are being treated for radiation exposure. Sure, I fell sorry for those people, but they do not many up even a percentage point of the people evacuated. The situation is not at a critical state yet, it is trending towards one but it is not there just yet. People here on these boards need to calm down, get rational, and use their brains. Nuclear reactors do not explode due to nuclear explosions, the process is entirely different. What they do explode from is pressure. As the rods heat up uncontrollably they create a massive amount of steam as the water boils off. This can cause a rupture in the containment systems and by, and only by, that pressure explosion can the core material be jettisoned into the air. I can already here you saying "but… but Chernobyl.." and you are right there was a chemical process explosion in that case only because the Russian RMBK style reactors employed graphite into their designs of the coolant systems. This is what exploded then and threw all of that material up into the atmosphere. That precise scenario can not happen in this case, sure a pressure explosion could cause something like that to happen, but it would not be as massive of a disaster as Chernobyl was unless there were hundreds of psi's worth of pressure more then the vessel can withstand. The decay reaction from the rods is not moving fast enough for that to happen at the moment because they are still able to get sea water into the reactor. Now if that water flashed to steam, this would indicate that there could be a massive pressure explosion. The raise to a level 6 incident is only because the supply pool has been compromised, a 7 also does not mean something like Chernobyl, that was a high end of 7 event. Still an event, even slightly similar to Chernobyl, is going to be bad for Japan right now. 8 votes#2.9 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:01 PM EDT moonbeamracer Geowil … Good post! thanks for the sufficient explanation … 2 votes#2.10 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:32 PM EDT Geowil @my post sorry for some of the HORRIBLE typos, was just re-reading it and was like WTF?! Can't fix it now because you only get like 2 minutes or something, which imo is ridiculous. Also I want to add this to the discussion as well for how superb these structures have held up against all the crap that was thrown at them: These plants were design to withstand a 7.0 earthquake. To put this into perspective a 7.0 earthquake can generate the same amount of energy as 474 kilotons of TNT (equivalent to about 22.5 Fat Men nuclear bombs being exploded at once). A 9.0 can release energy equivalent to 474 megatons of TNT. That is almost 10 times more powerful then the Tsar Bomba (50 megatons of TNT, and the strongest nuclear weapon ever built, or 1200 Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs combined) nuclear weapon developed by Russia. They withstood this force and that of a 30 foot tall tsunami and were not leveled. 6 votes#2.11 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:54 PM EDT hockeypuck nice when some one that knows something about the topic posts.from what i gather the leak is real and the half life is quick. 5 votes#2.12 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:05 PM EDT .chief1055 Good luck getting any good info on meltdown in progress, media fleeing Japan in fear of contamination. News reports of 4th reactor exploding, but no confirmation yet. Better stock-up on iodate tablets before it is too late. 3 votes#3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:57 AM EDT AC Robertson There has been a SECOND explosion in reactor # 2 and they are saying that the bottom of the 'Containment Vessel' has now been damaged. Also the fuel rods have been COMPLETELY exposed for a second time today… Reactor #4 has experienced a fire due to the fuel rods in the storage pool being exposed… The storage pool in reactor #2 has also been damaged… for a time line from today see – http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20110315/twl-japan-quake-live-report-4bdc673.html March 14, 2011 A top Japanese official said the fuel rods in all three of the most troubled nuclear reactors appeared to be melting. (CBS/AP) SOMA, Japan – A Japanese spokesman says the #4 reactor at the quake-damaged nuclear plant is on fire following another explosion today, and radiation is now spewing from it. The radiation level is now elevated to a point that may damage health, the spokesman said. Making matters worse, the wind over the radiation-leaking nuclear plant in northern Japan will blow inland from the northeast and later from the east on Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, according to Reuters. Harmful radiation can spread via wind and rain. According to the latest TEPCO press release – ALL four reactors are in cold shut-down and reactor vessel cooling is stable… see http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/index-e.html Ha! Ha! 4 votes#3.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:04 AM EDT markc-1976983 Gentlemen . . . sepaku please. 1 vote#3.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:05 AM EDT .WhenceOneWonders The author writes: "In one sign of the panic, Don Quixote, a multistory, 24-hour general store in Tokyo's Roppongi district, was sold out of radios, flashlights, candles, fuel cans and sleeping bags on Tuesday as a Reuters reporter visited the shop." However, such goods were sold out of some shops as early as Saturday, and the panic buying began after TEPCO, the electrical power company, announced rolling blackouts. Also, the Roppongi district is a sort of foreign ghetto: in most parts of Tokyo (e.g., where I live) there are no signs of "panic." There is great worry, of course, but nothing resembling panic. 9 votes#4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:06 AM EDT Night Hawk "foreign ghetto " got to love it. Not a Japan ghetto, an imported one ( foreign). so only people in the "foreign Ghetto " are afraid ( paniced) and you all on the other side of the tracks don't panic? ( just a great worry ) Cool 2 votes#4.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:10 AM EDT Mark-292995 It is easy to get visitors all worked up no different than if a hurricane was nearing the coast of Florida. The people staying in hotels near Disney would be packing up and moving out while the people who live in Fla. would be mowing their grass and playing golf. This is a serious situation but if we lived by the headlines everyday we would all just stay inside in the dark. That ain't living in my book. 7 votes#4.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:02 AM EDT Retired Navy Senior Chief Roppongi is where foriegners go to see the Tokyo night life and where Japanesse go for American intertainment. When I was in Japan in the mid 90's it was where all sailors went in Tokyo but it was a very Americanized version of Japan. It was also the only place I went in Japan where I was concerned about my safety. "Foriegn Ghetto" is the best discription of Roppongi I have ever heard. 11 votes#4.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:09 AM EDT AP-1414066 There's nothing in any of the reports to substantiate the headline. Fear and taking precautions, even evacuation, isn't the same thing as panic. (In fact, judging by the comments, there is more sign of panic on these boards by those not even living in Japan.) 5 votes#4.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:45 AM EDT Illinois man By ghetto you mean a place where foreigners live because they cannot cope with the language barrier. It is not a poor ghetto, in fact it is one of the most expensive places in the world to live. Take a look on Google Earth. Hyatt does not build their most lavish hotel in Japan in a poor neighborhood. 1 vote#4.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:20 AM EDT Wants to know It may also be true that some folks are stocking up on supplies to assist in earthquake relief. There was one story reported of a business exec who loaded up and headed toward the hard hit areas. #4.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:47 PM EDT congoman Sold out that's great in an island in the Caribbean it would have been looted, the people working there raped then burned to the ground. What a difference in culture. #4.7 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:02 PM EDT .dave and darren Levels higher 500 miles away in Russia now detected. How long till wind carried fallout reaches the other side of the Pacific and how wide an area of the globe will experience "elevated levels"of radiation? #5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:11 AM EDT Bruce-308647 I expect the strongest "fallout" may well be in the world's financial markets, which I am reading could start tumbling within the next week. Because of the shortage of power in Japan (30% of their power was nuclear), virtually all industries will be affected from the auto industry to electronics. Factories shuttered means more unemployment for an already fragile economy. 13 votes#5.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:35 AM EDT JBow-1472094 Run, everybody! But where to? 4 votes#5.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:43 AM EDT Chris-1664618 Run, everybody! But where to? *flails arms and runs into wall, falls down* 7 votes#5.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:30 AM EDT Ophelia 13 Libya 1 vote#5.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:37 PM EDT retired '08 Is there a space shuttle going up? Is there room? #5.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:05 PM EDT hockeypuck look at it as a day you do not need sun.take a day in the shade and you are ahead of the game. 1 vote#5.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:09 PM EDT Bruce-308647 Well, we are paying the Russians $63 million for a seat on their rocket… Maybe you can ride along on it! #5.7 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:46 PM EDT .Tiger's the Man I hear the thunder Three miles away The island's leaking Into the bay The poison is spreading The demon is free And people are running from What they can't even see. Tubes melting, hydrogen explosions, reactor containment buildings breached, lack of cooling water. Everything is under control people. Just run for your lives, in an orderly fashion please. 10 votes#6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:15 AM EDT Laura-1779424 Is this the famous poet Charlie Sheen? Your work is improving. Why don't you throw a few million to the fine people of Japan as a donation? People may actually like you again! But seriously – this situation is not looking good and I do believe their government is not telling the truth. But then who would be shocked by that? Our government lies to us so much we don't even know when they are telling the truth. Buy stock in demolition, construction, disaster clean up and green energy…wind turbines, etc. We need to get rid of the nukes and we need to stop being a slave to the big oil companies. (Giving the finger to them right now, both hands, two fingers up high) 2 votes#6.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:06 PM EDT Tiger's the Man I believe you are correct Laura. By the way, those are the words (or lyrics) of Dan Fogelberg who wrote the song "Face the Fire" after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. They said today this incident is now worse than Three Mile Island. That is a joke considering Three Mile island had a melt down due to a stuck valve……A Stuck Valve…in comparison to an earthquake, no cooling water and three hydrogen explosions. Yes I believe you when you say the government lies about such things. And no, I'm not shocked either. #6.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:15 PM EDT .ELH-602027 As usual the government is trying to down play the severity of the problem, and as usual, people are slowly finding out the truth thru sources other than their lying government. Our government would lie their asses off straight to our faces too in a similar situation. I've got a feeling this is going to get worse to the point that the government can no longer hide the truth, and the people will realize that they have already been exposed to much higher doses of radiation than stated by their "loving and in control" government. Japans government still say the doses are low, but when story mongering ruthless reporters start leaving because they see right there on the scene that what the government is saying doesn't match the facts in front of them, then you can bet that the down play by the government is falling apart and the reporters are running because the facts not the government lies are making them run for their lives. 3 votes#7 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:39 AM EDT 111pct So you're irritated that the big bad goobermint isn't whipping everybody into a frenzy with "the facts"? What good would a strategy like that do? If you're kid cuts his fingers off in a snownblower, do you freak out waving your arms around, jum,ping up and down screaming about all the bad stuff that's happening, gonna happen, might happen, or hasn't happened? No, most rational people would remain calm…and yes, tell some lies to keep things more manageable in the big picture – getting him the help they need as quickly as possible. Grow up with your namby pamby whiny government is lying to us BS! 11 votes#7.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:21 AM EDT AP-1414066 Did you not hear the translated statements all OVER the news from Japan's Prime Minister? Hard to call those downplaying the severity. 1 vote#7.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:47 AM EDT FLYARMY Still, should we all panic…..no matter where we are? I think the Japanese government must downplay the panic side while trying to tell a nuclear nervous community the severity of the situation. 3 votes#7.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:36 AM EDT history addict who says the people will panic if told the truth, if there is truth being held back? 111pctL Who says everyone reacts like a child? Treat me like one when I should know something I'm not going to be happy. You people watch to many movies. #7.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:40 PM EDT chris-1189701 Why should a politiciian tell you the truth if its going to hurt him. The politicians way is let them find out on their own full well knowing that you do not have the radiation detectors needed to get facts. The only real thing we currently know is the situation is not improving. I am sad for all involved but consider myself lucky this time, I don't live in Hawaii, Oregon or California. #7.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:42 PM EDT Frank Morton-2536216 Truth is better than lies under all conditions. Our culture is so accustom to lying that we lie and call it spin. Even in our courts of "justice" lying is so common thay the truth sounds strange to lawyers and judges. #7.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:11 PM EDT .Porcine Aviator It amazes me, just amazes me, how humans will rationalize incredibly idiotic choices. Money is almighty, security, health, and safety be damned. Call me crazy, but I'd rather pay 30-40% more for my electricity to come from a renewable source like wind, solar, hydro, etc. It should be clear by now that nukes are the suicide option. We are only dealing with the troubles caused by operaitonal difficulties. Even if the operational cycle was flawless, can anyone honestly say they have a solution for storing 100,000 metric tons of high level waste for 250,000+ years? Of course not! Are we so selfish to think we have the right to force the implication of our energy choices of today on the next 10,000 generations? Talk about taxation without representation! That's the trouble with nukes…because it takes so little material to harm humans (mere micrograms or less), there can be NO mistakes, ZERO. Even 1 mistake in a billion is too many. So why do we tolerate such an insane way to generate electric power? Are we REALLY that doggoned averse to investing our money in clean, safe options that make us ENERGY INDEPENDENT to top it off? 7 votes#8 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:56 AM EDT Erika-2737673 We are not averse to investing money in clean, safe options that make us energy independent. Our Government is and until We the People take back control from these incompetents, we will continue to suffer at their hands. Get the message people! Our Government is not interested in what is good for it's citizens. Please, everyone start Speaking Out. Loudly! Ours and the world's survival is at stake. We can no longer afford to sit back in silence. 9 votes#8.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:04 AM EDT RayJ-3184456 Hey Porcine. What an alarmist you are. Nuclear power is still cleaner and safer than driving your car, or flying your plane for that matter. You should change your name Fat Chicken Little! 8 votes#8.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:32 AM EDT Pete-358654 I for one don't want to live in a dark cave. If you don't mind paying higher electric bills, I suggest that you start paying your neighbors. I love how people always say I have mine, now the rest of you go to hell. 3 votes#8.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:50 AM EDT scales67 Nuclear power is still cleaner and safer than driving your car, or flying your plane for that matter. RayJ – what a meaningless statement. You are comparing apples and oranges. What the heck does a nuclear power plant have to do with driving a car? Since you think that nuclear power is so safe, why don't you trade places with one of the people in Japan who want to leave Tokyo? 2 votes#8.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:29 PM EDT retired '08 I would think that wind power or solar energy sources would not be more expensive. They're natural! #8.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:07 PM EDT .Van – Bloomington "In one sign of the panic, Don Quixote, a multistory, 24-hour general store in Tokyo's Roppongi district, was sold out of radios, flashlights, candles, fuel cans and sleeping bags on Tuesday as a Reuters reporter visited the shop." How is the above a sign of panic? Just sounds like folks taking steps to protect themselves in a crisis. 11 votes#9 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:01 AM EDT AC Robertson The country will be experiencing power black-outs for the foreseeable future, read YEARS. It is still COLD in many areas of japan. Panic is doubtful, but COMMON SENSE is definite… 13 votes#9.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:10 AM EDT JBow-1472094 Right you are! 2 votes#9.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:44 AM EDT takenaka All flashlights have been sold out all over Japan for days. There will be blackouts so it makes sense. Japanese people do not panic they prepare. Think of those buried under the ruble. Tokyo is warm. Think of the brave internationals who are helping. Think of those who are staying to try to stop the meltdown. We all must be brave. 21 votes#9.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:11 AM EDT notsojingo http://www.weather.com/weather/today/Tokyo+Japan+JAXX0085?from=search_city Today Tonight Tomorrow Mostly Cloudy Partly Cloudy / Wiindy Clear / Windy Partly Cloudy 46°F 51° 37° Right Now 46° Feels Like: 40° #9.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:30 PM EDT Sally Comment # 10 deleted. Obama derail. Stay on-topic, svopilot. Mind # 4 of the Code of Honor. 1 vote#9.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:16 PM EDT .svopilotDeleted .homesick yank I think this is an exaggeration. Tokyoites do NOT panic. People are buying things to be prepared and to be responsible. I think this headline and story are irresponsible journalism, it will cause unneeded fear for those who have family and friends in Tokyo. 19 votes#11 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:10 AM EDT JBow-1472094 At last, a sane voice in the wilderness. 6 votes#11.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:45 AM EDT blindsided-1194485 Very true. having been to Japan (although over 25 years ago,) I found it to be a very polite, orderly society. Many here in the US can learn something by the way they conduct themselves in times of crisis. As usual, the media will embellish if it means profit for broadcasting time or the sale of periodicals. This is not to say that the situation on Honshu is not serious, but from what I can see of the conduct of the Japanese people on television in this crisis, they're a long way from pandemonium in the street. My thoughts and prayers to all of the people of the nation of Japan. Hopefully a safe solution to their nuclear emergency will be found soon. 12 votes#11.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:55 AM EDT Sue M-972221 Nice post.. I believe respect for people was taught at a very young age in this culture. Something that is missing in the American culture for sure. Here it is the name calling, vile at times, and the pure hatred for others that astounds me. Japan, you are in my thoughts and prayers. 11 votes#11.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:49 AM EDT joegintn Have you seen any japanese, whining, pointing fingers, slamming their gov cause they arent speed racer fast, blaming the rest of the world for there woes, all I've seen and heard is an entire country scrambling together fixing this mess, right after this hit they were all about there peoples and sticking together, they're obviously a stronger willed country than the majority, I think that their actions as a country are quite impressive, many countrys should take notes instead of trying to promote fleeing in panic.(no france you don't need to throw down your guns and run in fear just yet) and common sense tells me if an explosion is involved and a human built the containment unit, odds are its broken, most of these self proclaimed experts think just because a human built it its becomes indestructable, ignorance is an engineers biggest problem, we also don't live in the stone age of nuclear tech. anymore either, so the cherynbl plant is not an accurate comparison 11 votes#11.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:00 AM EDT marklepew "Have you seen any Japanese whining, pointing fingers, slamming their government"………………apparently Sarah hasn't had the chance to rub off on the Japanese 4 votes#11.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:23 AM EDT nonkjo "Have you seen any Japanese whining, pointing fingers, slamming their government"………………apparently Sarah hasn't had the chance to rub off on the Japanese And how many times has Obama blamed Bush…do you need the youtube link? I'd caution you against looking for yourself. Ignorance is still bliss. 3 votes#11.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:51 AM EDT 111pct Nokyo…because you're always completely honest with yourself? Stones/glass houses. 4 votes#11.7 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:27 AM EDT Rick-in-SD Comment collapsed by the community The only thing the Obama Administration has blamed the Bush Administration for is what was dropped in his lap when he took office (i.e., little stuff like two unfunded wars and the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression). 7 votes#11.8 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:41 AM EDT OhNo-2572609 Rick: If Obama didn't like the wars, why did he increase troops and spending, instead of exiting? 1 vote#11.9 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:48 AM EDT Danger-2529265 New York City was attacked, and under the threat of continued attacks the people evacuated the area. Ordinary citizens helped the evacuees with shelter food, water, ect. Ordinary citizens directed traffic while Emergency personel responded to the scene. So enough crap about inferior American culture. 3 votes#11.10 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:44 PM EDT Nkwhite32 Danger-2529265 I could not agree more. In just about all cases we Americans are here to help each other, and peoples of other countries when disasters strike. I really take offence to others saying we do not. I don't know where they live but in my neck of the woods people care and are willing to always help in one way or another. #11.11 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:45 PM EDT notsojingo Rick-in-SD Comment collapsed by the community The only thing the Obama Administration has blamed the Bush Administration for is what was dropped in his lap when he took office (i.e., little stuff like two unfunded wars and the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression). • • #11.8 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:41 AM EDT #11.12 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:35 PM EDT .VWLogan I realize that 99.99% of the population here does not have technical backgrounds in radiation, nuclear engineering, power plant design, etc. but it is NOT time to panic and evacuate Tokyo. A widespread panic and evacuation of Tokyo would result in more fatalities from the logistical standpoint of evacuation than could be caused by radiation from the Fukushima plant. I know many of you want to cry "conspiracy" and "coverup" but the information coming from Japan has been very accurate so far. Now, things have gone from bad, to worse, to much worse over the last few days and the Japanese government has not been hiding this like would be done in Soviet Russia / Ukraine as occurred during the Chernobyl disaster. Our society FEARS nuclear power and radiation because most of this population has no handle on the actual risks involved. For a perspective, there were 100,000 survivors of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, all of whom were exposed to great amounts of radiation and radioactive contamination. Of these 100,000 only 500 died prematurely of cancers that would otherwise not be seen in a control group. That is one half of one percent. And the contamination from Fukushima will be MUCH lower than that from the nuclear blasts of WWII. Compare that to the 10 to 15 THOUSAND deaths attributed to the Union Carbide chemical plant disaster in Bhopal or the 10+ thousand dead from the quake and tsunami that just devastated Japan and started this whole mess. Nuclear power plants are NOT more dangerous than the industrial facilities we happily drive by every day. They are just scarier. 13 votes#12 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:25 AM EDT give freedom for security and have your rights taken away They just injected everything they have this year into the economy and this just started. I have read reports that the #3 reactor uses MOX Fuel….. Does anyone know this to be fact? #12.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:28 AM EDT .JBow-1472094 STOP THE STUPID HYPE! There is NO general panic in Tokyo, where I live. Yes, people are uneasy about the situation, and yes, some are starting to hoard non-perishable foods such as cup noodles and are hoarding toilet paper. But they did the same when we had the oil shocks in the 70s. There is plenty of other food available, and life is going on fairly normally under the circumstances. Rolling electricity outages are scheduled, and some electric railway transportation is curtailed to help divert energy to the disaster areas up north. But life goes on, the people are resilient, they have lived through many tragedies over the years, and they will overcome this crisis. 30 votes#13 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:33 AM EDT Ed Neiheisel Total nonsense – not sure where in Tokyo the panic was supposed to happen but not anywhere I saw. People lined up and waited their turn in stores and trains. No shouting, no pushing. Yes you did see the rarity of a few empty shelves as the same idea struck a number of people the same time so they all rushed to buy batteries, candles, canned tuna – isles were free and had lots of meat, fish, fruits and vegetables – but no instant noodles and no canned tuna – go figure. On Saturday, the day after the big quake, newspaper arrived at 6am, the garbage was picked up at 8am and mail arrived at its usual time. Tokyo continues to operate as it always has — yes we are all looking at the nuc plants and hoping that the folks there figure it out before it gets entirely out of control – but at least at 1945 on March 15 Tokyo is as peaceful as it always is. 22 votes#13.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:46 AM EDT JBow-1472094 Truer words were never said. 3 votes#13.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:51 AM EDT Roland-2187599 You are a person who has their head in the sand. I worked in the radiation field. For you to compare "oil" shortages to what is going on with the Nuclear plants is like comparing apple and oranges. I hope what you are saying is true, but believe me radiation level you are expericencing is nothing coompared if/when there is a melt-down. You are looking at three (reactors), not one. Authorities are pumping sea-water for a last-ditch effort to cool down the reactors. You might be okay now, but when those reactors go you wish you were in the other side of the planet. You better stock up with food items and water. When #$%& hits the fan, you'll be begging for supplies because right now, supermarkets are starting to run low on supplies. Your decision…… 1 vote#13.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:52 AM EDT JR in HB Typical MSNBC garbage reporting. I just spoke with our company's office in Tokyo and there is NO PANIC at all. People are worried but all is orderly. Some people on this thread are more panicked than the people in Tokyo. MSNBC should be ashamed for calling themselves a serious news organization. 8 votes#13.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:52 AM EDT Rick-in-SD JR, if MSNBC "should be ashamed for calling themselves a serious news organization" for this headline, then who do you consider a serious news organazation? Is it Fox News, who's running the headline "Panic Buying Adds to Shortages"? Is it CNN with it's headline "Radiation Fear Adds to Misery"? They're ALL doing it. So who do you consider a serious news organization? 4 votes#13.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:53 AM EDT JR in HB Rick, Fox is as useless as MSNBC for everything. Reuters, AP or even the BBC are better…more facts less "editoral news". In this situation Japan Today or Japan Times. 3 votes#13.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:41 AM EDT spike* Thank you! Looking at videos and photos of the aftermath, it looks like the people of Japan are comporting themselves as they usually do. With calm rationality. 4 votes#13.7 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:05 PM EDT Panther-1374895 I don't believe that there are any reliable T.V. news programs in America; they are all only concerned about making money and nothing else. The only way they can do this is to hype up stories so that more people will watch them. Some of what they tell is true but not all of it; it's all about ratings and money, doesn't matter if it's FOX, MSNBC, ABC ect., they are all the same. What makes the difference on how they report is on who owns them and what that persons polictical views are, if you can't see that then something is wrong with you. 3 votes#13.8 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:08 PM EDT ORION2 Big mouths, that say little things so loudly. #13.9 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:39 PM EDT .BrianD808 Its bad!! What looks like heat waves, like when a road is really hot and looks like water, can be seen on video, that means radiation is emitting. And if a video camera can pick it up, that means really high levels of radiation are being emitted. Not good 🙁 #14 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:42 AM EDT JBow-1472094 Boy, are you lacking in scientific knowledge and common sense. Run for your life! 16 votes#14.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:48 AM EDT Rusty248 You are being to nice JBow. I can't believe the ignorance I just read. 3 votes#14.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:51 AM EDT Todd-651965 Oh come on, haven't you stuck your head inside a microwave oven and seen the radiation? If they have any doubts, they should strategically place microwave popcorn bags around the area and stay at least 10 feet away from any that start popping….. 5 votes#14.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:09 AM EDT Panther-1374895 @ Todd-651965, Too funny! #14.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:09 PM EDT BrianD808 Its the CCDs picking up the radiation!!!! #14.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:32 PM EDT .Sleeping calmly in Tokyo Van-Bloomington and homesick yank have it right. Preparatory buying in anticipation of possible problems with the delivery of electricity and water is not 'panic' buying. People have been buying things in a calm and cooperative fashion. No one person taking too much. In fact, I've seen anything but panic. This article is sensationalistic crap by a dishonest journalist with more interest in drawing eyeballs to the article than in trying to paint an accurate picture. ELH, yes, 'tis true, governments often lie. Also true is that the world is full of lots of misinformed people running around like Chicken Little and lots of people using situations to their advantage. 11 votes#15 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:50 AM EDT JBow-1472094 You really hit the nail on the head. Too bad we couldn't do it to the actual sensationalist reporter. 5 votes#15.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:55 AM EDT Erika-2737673 The only time our Government doesn't lie is when their mouth is closed. 3 votes#15.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:08 AM EDT John-1481207 All you sleeping calmly in Tokyo, sleep away the way the nuclear reactor dominos are falling over there you may not have to worry about waking up. #15.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:15 PM EDT doyourhomework,America! Roland and John- you are a couple of d*cks. Does it really make you happy to taunt those in severe distress? #15.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:56 PM EDT Tad-401841 Roland and John would be the very first to hyper-ventilate, wail and cry in a situation like this. Glad they aren't there make fools of themselves. #15.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:51 PM EDT .GRJ-2553655 It sounds like when US bombed Japan back in 1945, the H-bomb. The landscape looks familar to the aftereffects of a nuclear bomb. The Japanese will have a shorter life span the next 60 years. #16 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:56 AM EDT JBow-1472094 Sorry to have to tell you this, but you need to brush up on your history and your science. Japan was not bombed with an "H"-bomb. It was an atomic bomb. 9 votes#16.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:39 AM EDT Freemannogod JBow-1472094 You just can't help yourself can you MAN! There you go again with your great wonderful hateful Wikipedia copy paste history comment MAN. Is that all you do on this vine BRO? Just wait for someone to make a little slip then jump all over them with your bloody wnaker comeback. You’re one of the worst breed of bloggers on the net BRO!!! Have a nice day with your spell checker and copy paste history channel MAN! See you down under were trolls always hide BRO! #16.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:40 PM EDT Pats-2135476 Thanks Jbow- @Freemannogod-Someone needs to correct the mass misinformation spouting from this comments blog. I just sit, read and shake my head at all the stupidity. People love the drama… #16.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:56 PM EDT .Freemannogod WTF is going on with these so called experts in Japan? They say this thing is under control yet each day there moving closer to a full scale evacuation of the bloody area. I think they have been screwed right from the start and have been down playing this whole damn mess right up to the end. When is someone going to finally say Hey were not perfect and this thing is ready to let go. Stupid f…ks are playing with peoples lives now so they can save face, or is it the stock market. I don’t care how many experts on this vine or in Japan say they have a handle on this so don’t worry. Well folks it is beginning to look and sound like it’s time to begin moving away from this bloody plant, and fast. This is BS bogus reporting and face saving crap. They need to start facing the real issues and tell the people to get the hell as far away as you can before your skin begins to boil with tumors. I think there all idiots sitting along a runaway train that can’t be stopped. Time to blow the horn boys, the end of the line is about 5 miles ahead. To me me it seems there going tell everyone to get ready after the crash. 1 vote#17 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:05 AM EDT markc-1976983 Sepaku #17.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:16 AM EDT PJ in Tuc And where would you like the people to go? You have a population roughly half that of the US in a country that is 10% less than that of the state of California. Where, I ask, would you like to send these people? The calm, level-headed people of Japan will remain it's strength…millions of people running around in paranoid states will cause MORE damage and destruction…something they just don't need. In other words…PLEASE STOP INFLAMING THE SITUATION! Sorry- didn't feel like using the bold face type to get the point across. 1 vote#17.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:37 AM EDT spike* So you believe what you read in the media – from an American site? Have you actually 'listened' to the experts in Japan? If you have, I assume that means you speak Japanese. 1 vote#17.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:09 PM EDT Freemannogod @markc-1976983 Sepaku? Did you have to look that one up before posting MAN? J for ritual s…cide plus a few other meanings, your a real gem bro or is it JBOW. #17.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:23 PM EDT doyourhomework,America! markc- a. you're spelling it wrong, and b. grow up. You think you're being clever, but you're also being a d*ck. #17.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:59 PM EDT .JBow-1472094 Why no by-line? I would really like to know the name of the ignorant reporter who wrote about the "panic" in Tokyo. I guess that he or she finds it easier to make up stories than to actually dig out facts. What a sorry day for journalism. If there is "panic" in Tokyo, then I challenge you to show us a video of it. You can't possibly. But you can publish this tripe and hope that people who don't know the truth will believe it. And unfortunately, I am sure some will. 10 votes#18 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:06 AM EDT Freemannogod JBow-1472094 Why mate would anyone like other countries say the same thing? I really think this plant is getting out of control, and they know it. Time to begin moving people to safer areas while then still can don't you agree? Why would they lie about something this serious, really mate look at what it would do to the people if it was a lie then look at what it would do if it was real. I think they should move these people out, if they feel it is going to be unsafe to live or stay there right now. But that is me. 1 vote#18.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:14 AM EDT JBow-1472094 Comment collapsed by the community First of all, I am not your"mate". Since you use the term so often, I assume you may be from Australia. That would account for your lack of knowledge about grammar and punctuation and your fantasies. 5 votes#18.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:58 AM EDT marklepew @ Jbow no need to be rude mate 4 votes#18.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:30 AM EDT spike* S/he wasn't being rude. You need to read the inflammatory posts by ?Freemannogod. That poster is going all panicky like. 2 votes#18.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:12 PM EDT Freemannogod To: JBow-1472094 You don't deserve a reply in bold…….tosser!!!! What is your problem MAN!!!!!!! There you prefer that instead? Trust me you don’t have what it takes to live life like I do. You’re a rude pr…k as well. I gather today is hate freeman day or so it seems by some of the critics on this vine today. That’s alright I don’t mind, but when the sh..t hits the fan, you won’t be talking to me the way you are now. I make a comment that refers to saving lives, and this is the way I get bashed? I think some of the people who comment on this vine are the ones who need a bit of morals on how to communicate, and better understand the freedom of speech. You looked at my comment it was no more then a shout out to what is really going on. I don’t understand some Americans and this bloody proud BS point of view you have towards people who are not from your country. It is no wonder you have so many enemies around the world. You trash anyone who is not like you or thinks like you, and that is really sad. The word mate is a common expression of respect to another, and that is how you reply back? I don’t understand where some of your hate comes from, but if that’s the way you feel then I feel sorry for you MAN. I think that is a word you are more used of, or is it bro? I personally think you’re a tosser enough said. Choice words for a rude reply MAN. 4 votes#18.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:14 PM EDT Doc Mach Freeman; I think there's a miscommunication here. If one was to read every other line in your posts they would get the impression your were a pillock, but when read as a full statement, I think your points are valid. Cheers. 1 vote#18.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:59 PM EDT Freemannogod Doc Mach Wow thanks for the penal comment, I don't mind that one to much. I take it as a huge compliment like the meaning you know what I mean? Big! But thanks for reading between my lines. I didn't know I had such a secret cryptic skill, I am charmed yes? LMAO cheers mate 1 vote#18.7 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:38 PM EDT Tad-401841 JBow, Your posts are spot on, well done. #18.8 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:01 PM EDT .WatcheroftheskiesDeleted .CathyBernard But is the nuclear situation any safer in the United States? With over 100 reactors, many located in either seismically active areas or in coastal areas, even a one in 500 year event could be catastrophic just as it has been in Japan. Here is a look at the location of all reactors in the United States in relationship to the risk of potential seismic activity: http://viableopposition.blogspot.com/2011/03/americas-nuclear-industry-how.html #20 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:15 AM EDT Pete-358654 So many people are mis-informed. They are so mis-informed that they should not even post on line, it is a waste of power. 4 votes#20.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:55 AM EDT SHAWN-1387469 Fact: 2 nuclear plants in California were built to handle a 7.0 quake and science knows that the 9.0 quake will happen in the next 30 years. North and South Caroline have 2 plants located within 10 miles of a fault line. There are way too many nuclear plants in this country located close to fault lines. Don't believe me, locate the nuclear plants then go to USGS and locate the fault lines. 2 votes#20.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:24 AM EDT spike* Really? I didn't know that science 'knew' that a 9.0 quake will happen within the next 30 years. Do you have valid evidence of that? 2 votes#20.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:14 PM EDT SHAWN-1387469 It has been reported on very news channel, Discovery and the History channels. Geologist are also making the same statement. They have been saying this for 2 years now. 1 vote#20.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:20 PM EDT .Doc-1646975 Well what can you say about the people of Japan but, Classy. What discipline. No one preying on the other guy, people waiting in line quietly, patiently, no one yelling and screaming, no looting, people sharing with each other. The world can learn a lesson from the model of civility the Japanese people are showing the world. This is how you deal with a catastrophe and how to treat each other. They will overcome this albeit it will be some years before they are back to normal. Not exactly the picture that comes to mind when I think of behavior following Katrina. 23 votes#21 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:21 AM EDT Sue M-972221 Kudos for a well written post. 5 votes#21.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:52 AM EDT bluegrassguitar Quite a different attitude and response from what happened in New Orleans after Katrina, isn't it? 5 votes#21.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:07 AM EDT JR in HB I think they call it "emotional maturity". Something lacking in some parts of our society. 4 votes#21.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:06 AM EDT Margent1 Ask the survivors of the Nanking massacre and American and British POWs in WWII about the civility of the Japanese. Their behavior could not be called civilized by any standard. #21.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:12 AM EDT Brent-733131 Nanking was around 70 years ago, and has very little to do with today's Japan. 7 votes#21.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:51 AM EDT David Wellman Doc, I'm not there now, but I lived in Japan for over nine years, and I was there during the Kobe quake. I still have bad recollections of the crowded highways and drivers who refused to accommodate emergency vehicles, but you won't see those images outside of the country, nor are most Americans aware of the problems with the Monju nuclear reactor or the subsequent cover-up by Japanese officials in the late '90s. I was watching the news shortly after the Kobe quake, and initially saw scenes of Japanese refugees lining up for rations in an orderly fashion, while behind them, an arm was trembling from a pile of rubble, and the moans could be heard – not one person even looked in that direction, they just kept their eyes straight ahead and pretended they couldn't see. But they were orderly…. Katrina wasn't pretty, but you're comparing apples and oranges in order to draw your own conclusions. The one thing that these tragedies will have in common in all likelihood is that their respective governments will effectively perform triage in order to cut their losses (as happened in Kobe). Does that fit your view of an orderly response? 2 votes#21.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:40 PM EDT Doc Mach "Ask the survivors of the Nanking massacre and American and British POWs in WWII about the civility of the Japanese."Your talking about total War which was not made in 1/2 measures. It's graphic, brutal and unholy. An eradication of a people group to bring about the goals a Country. They lost, we won. Now is the time for peace and life not to pick at scabs that shouldn't be allowed to fester for almost a century. The term for what happened then was "No quarter", an absolute statement that Feudal Japan embraced. My Uncle brought home my Aunt Yaiko after the War and if he could forgive, why can't you? We are talking about people who are in need and to say "Well, you bombed Pearl Harbor" as though that's any reason to turn our backs is inane. 6 votes#21.7 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:47 PM EDT doyourhomework,America! couldn't say it better, doc. ps David, doesn't Kobe have a high percentage of foreigners? 1 vote#21.8 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:05 PM EDT David Wellman Kobe was a great deal more cosmopolitan than the rest of Japan, as it had traditionally been a sort of a gateway port. I was fortunate enough to visit there about a year before the quake, and was very impressed. The loss of the place still haunts me. For that matter, I had many pleasant experiences in the more rural areas, where, much to my surprise, people were less inclined to judge me by my race. I suffered a good deal at the hands of Japanese racists while I lived there (I was beaten on a few occasions by gangs of youths in the train stations – they cursed me for an Iranian, although I was born in Missouri), and I have never tried to stick to the party line about how much progress they've made, as I feel much of the perceived civility is completely superficial. That said, I still wouldn't have wished this disaster on the country, nor do I support any of the asinine comments that are being made about them. I'm all for offering whatever amount of assistance is needed, but I don't see any need to subscribe to fairy tales in the process. My observation, for what it's worth, is that there is little connection in this life between 'deserve' and 'get', whether it be good or bad. Things happen, and we are left to sort out the aftermath. 2 votes#21.9 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:29 PM EDT jhorne – boston Dear Doc, SueM, JR, Doyourhomework, and Bluegrass – I am always amazed by the ability of racists, or at least, people with racists attitudes, to find a way to spew their foul and wrong-thinking ideas into subjects that have nothing to do with race. Assuming the Japanese are as well-behaved in such a situation as you claim, did either one of you dimwits consider that the US government's response to Katrina, once they got around to responding that is, of telling folks to pile into a stadium where there would be inadeqaute food and water, was downright inhumane, and would have turned even the most civilized person into somewhat of an animal? Did you itforbrains consider whether the Japanese government's response was in any way similar to that of our own? – To you I say, hi racists! Your ignorance suits you well. 3 votes#21.10 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:49 PM EDT scott-2479800 well, i'm just going to say it ….. its simply the diference between blacks and and any other race. blacks = looting 1 vote#21.11 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:14 PM EDT Lanikai Ron Simply put, liberals have not made big inroads inJapan. The people there know how to take care of themselves. Their society is based on their citizen's penchant for personal responsibility. The liberals in the USA have created a society where able bodied people can survive just fine on government handouts provided from the pockets of the taxpayers. Eventually, our entitlement system makes it impossible for able bodied adults who have been nuetered with handouts to ever be able to hold a steady job again. #21.12 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:45 PM EDT eXm New Orleans and Japan are being compared? You people are just a bunch of sick puppies! Blaming blacks and gays for a disaster? Wow, ignorant beyond words. I am insulted that you would exploit one very different disaster to mock the victims of another disaster. That's like comparing the reaction of people to an F4 tornado wiping out a Nebraska town to the reactions of people in Seattle as Mount Rainier erupts. Has the Japanese government been cutting regulations and building codes to save a penny here and there? No. Has the government actually accepted foreign help? Yes, they actually requested it right away. Did they respond immediately? Yes. Wow, those are all things that I'd answer 'no' to if the same questions were asked about our response to Katrina – the majority of offers for aid were declined and the majority of the money pledged around the world to help New Orleans be rebuilt was never collected. (search for 'International response to Hurricane Katrina' and observe that $854 million was offered to us, but only $40 million (5%) had been spent – most of it, nearly all of it actually, remains uncollected.) The government allowed New Orleans and other areas to marinate in the southern heat and humidity after the storm before patting themselves on the back and going in after the media outrage began. The levees around New Orleans were, and still are, woefully inadequate to properly the city from hurricanes and major floods – you know, those 300 year floods we seem to get every other year now on the Mississippi/Missouri River system and it's tributaries… Then came the FEMA tailors and the promises to rebuild that still have not happened and the shoddy imported construction materials and the HUGE lack of oversight to protect victims from fly-by-night contractors. Block after block of New Orleans is still rubble or vacant. In Mississippi, much has already been rebuilt – the response to Katrina in Mississippi is almost as good as Japan's response to the disaster there will be (most of the recovery money was pumped into MS after all) – our response to Katrina in New Orleans is not much different than the USSR's response to Chernobyl (hush it up, tone it down and drag your ass until you are pressured to act – and when you do finally act, half-ass it). 1 vote#21.13 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:44 PM EDT .takenaka I wish I knew how to stop freeman nogod from posting. I am in tokyo and stores are closing early to save electricity. There is no panic. Where would 12 million people go anyway? We are all here together and that is where we want to be. Maybe those with no god are running. 15 votes#22 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:22 AM EDT Freemannogod takenaka I don't understand why you would say something like that about me. I am only concerned for you and your people, so why am I a bad person for feeling like this? My name on this vine has nothing to do with the way I feel about people being in danger. I hope nothing bad happens, and that is all I really am trying to say here. I don't have a faith system like some on this vine meaning any of the traits followed by any religion, but I am a good person who cares what happens to others, so I am somewhat hurt that you would think me to be other wise. I wish you and your family the best were you are right now, as with all those who have suffered in Japan by this terrible act of nature. Sorry you feel my comment was in anyway taken wrongfully, because I have a great respect for the people of Japan as with yours. Take care and all the best. I won't post anymore comments if it makes you feel this way out of respect. 3 votes#22.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:38 AM EDT Erika-2737673 My prayers are with you and all your people. 1 vote#22.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:12 AM EDT ConfederateSon Why would there be panic? This isn't New Orleans, after all. 5 votes#22.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:30 AM EDT .womenonguard If I lived in Japan, I would not leave my home, order takout food and hope for MANY WINDY DAYS to disperse the radiation! #23 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:29 AM EDT spike*** So you would have someone else risk their life in the radiation cloud in order to bring you food? I have no words. Please reread what you wrote. 3 votes#23.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:17 PM EDT .Who ate my soup OMG!! I was just watching TCM and they showed Mothra and Rodan moving on Tokyo!! Now we need Godzilla to absorb the radiation so he has the power to fight this dual threat. God does work in mysterious ways. Every things going to be OK just as soon as they get the "X" fighters in the air. 2 votes#24 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:34 AM EDT Doc Mach Dude,… Waaaay too soon. 1 vote#24.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:52 PM EDT SCSlim No need to bother Godzilla. Just pry the Obaminator loose from the links for a press conference, have him call his wizards of smart together for a few breakout sessions, then get them to report back to him in 2 or 3 hours and presto! Problem solved. When all is said and done, more is said than done. #24.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:18 PM EDT .joe donahue yeah, god works in mysterious ways, he made man an idiot! now think about this-if you drew a 750 mile circle with Washington DC in the middle there are some 76 nuclear reactors withen that circle, and the Gov wants to build more.Of course if an accident happened we'd never be lied to about it,or have it covered up isnt that right? 2 votes#25 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:44 AM EDT Erika-2737673 The good thing in your statement is at least we would be rid of all of Satan's spawn in Washington. Maybe, then, those of us who are human can begin to rebuild a better world. God willing. 5 votes#25.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:14 AM EDT ConfederateSon @Erika: some people consider the District of Criminals to be hallowed ground – sacred, even. Others realize that the shortest path to liberty would be to incinerate everything and everyone in that great hive of scum and villainy. 5 votes#25.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:32 AM EDT Erika-2737673 Well said. I am a great believer in taking the shortest route. 1 vote#25.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:59 AM EDT Anthony Wrifford Time to leave. Far and wide. #25.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:40 PM EDT .Nushuzan Who needs conspiracy theory blogs over blowing the situation with their puff when we have MSNBC doing it for us. There was no panic today, just concern. I didn't see one person running up and down the street shouting 'we're all going to die'. People are orderly and dealing with the situation in true Japanese fashion. In fact, the rolling blackout in my designated area to save energy was called off because it wasn't necessary. The people had enough social responsibility to conserve energy all on their own and were willing to sacrifice for the good of the country. Not only is this type of reporting uncalled for, it is totally disrespectful to those trying ease the difficulties during this terrible disaster. 8 votes#26 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:47 AM EDT Skup Unfortunately sensationalism sells newspapers. 1 vote#26.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:09 AM EDT .posttal All i can say is WOW..unbeilevable. It makes you wonder if their right with all these predictions about the end of the world. And before you say anything I'm not saying they are right…but it does make you wonder with every thing going on in the world right now.It would be soo nice if we all could get along and just enjoy our short life here on this planet. After all we could be next. 1 vote#27 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:47 AM EDT Erika-2737673 Not "could be". We are next. Keep in mind that this Earth would be just fine if there were no Humans. We, did this. I have seen the enemy and it is us. 1 vote#27.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:17 AM EDT Skup Who exactly would "they" be? U.S. banking giant Citigroup said it was keeping workers in Tokyo informed but there were no evacuation orders Yeah RIGHT, Like the banks actually care more about there people than money, as long as you can still brethe you will be there working! 2 votes#31 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:48 AM EDT.Who ate my soup your just being negative. If it weren't for our stupidity what would the 24 hour news ticker have to report? Imagine a weekend without a busload of dead tourist, exploding reactors and some dead white girl to talk about. Now I bet you feel silly don't you? besides any real dangers to us will be exposed by Governor Ventura. #32 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:51 AM EDT marklepew or that idiot Bachmann 1 vote#32.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:32 AM EDT .rick-2065324 Damn you media, just have to hype everything, anything to sell as story, right boys and girls. You will have them stampeding in the streets if you keep this up. Report the facts! don't embellish it! Don't speculate, Your so called experts are a joke, hell 3 days ago we were told the next12-24 hours would determine if there was going to be an issue with these reactors and yet here we are 3 days later listening to the next disaster unfolding in these same reactors. Admit it you and your experts don't have a clue do they you are just reporting crap to keep the story hot. The Japanese people are handling this in spectacular fashion. If this were to happen in any major US city the city would be burning and looters would be running rampart. The world could learn a lot from these folks no knee jerk reactions they just roll with the punches and that is why they will survive this. 6 votes#33 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:52 AM EDT John-3184390 We are experiencing elevated radiation levels on both the east and west coast. Its going to be a long ride. #33.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:21 AM EDT Skup We are experiencing elevated radiation levels on both the east and west coast. Where did you get that? 3 votes#33.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:12 AM EDT .daid I've been on the bandwagon that the media-hype has been more about sensational "worst-case" scenarios than reporting the facts in a fair light. I live near Tokyo, and I've had to deal with friends and family abroad sending me information about the nuclear reactor situation 240 km away from me almost since the earthquake occurred. I'm a PhD student in nuclear physics, so I think I understand a thing or two about radiation. But when I saw that radiation levels where I live are 40 times above the norm, and there is validated detection of 131-iodine and 137-cesium near where I live well above ordinary background levels, I booked a flight out of the country. I'm not in a panic, but this is my personal benchmark for taking precaution. Is this level a health risk? No, it isn't. However, it is a tracer of reactor material, and it's in the air. Set your own benchmarks for alarm, but that's mine. It's quantitative, has no news spin. It's a fact. I told my family this past weekend when I see 131I and 137Cs where I live, then I'll be concerned. Saw it, booked the flight for the next day. When we send the ion beam into the experimental hall, we close the door and go somewhere else. Doesn't mean you'd die if you stayed in the room. But you know there's radiation there, so you go someplace else far away. My friends here can go somewhere in western Japan at fairly short notice if things get ugly. But me, I have to get on an airplane. 2 votes#34 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:55 AM EDT.Sue M-972221 All of the people of Japan are handling this catasrophe with the utmost patience and responsibility. Yes, the people of the United States could most definetly learn from this. The me-me-me attitude is alive and well here. The what-is-yours-is-mine attitude also prevails in America. Looting would be a free-for-all. The people of Japan should be very proud of themselves for showing the world just what class means. You are in my prayers Japan. 5 votes#35 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:01 AM EDT NoMoMoney-962921 Thanks for hammering our country, by all means don't hold anything back, get that chip off your shoulder. 2 votes#35.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:13 AM EDT Erika-2737673 The truth hurts doesn't it. Get your head out of the sand. 2 votes#35.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:18 AM EDT NoMoMoney-962921 Maybe where you live, my head is fine, do you two hate everything, or just America, if you dislike this country so much, I'm sure airplanes are leaving every hour for another one, adios, and good riddens. 2 votes#35.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:23 AM EDT Erika-2737673 I love this Country and will do anything to protect her from harms way, and especially when that threat is coming from our own Government. There might be sand here but apparently where your head is stuck—well–you fill-in-the-blanks. 2 votes#35.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:32 AM EDT marklepew Sue M and Ericka should stop hating on America. I wonder if they donated anything or volunteered for anything to improve our country. Probably just like to bitch about things…………as usual 3 votes#35.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:36 AM EDT NoMoMoney-962921 I could not have said it better Mark, typical haters. 3 votes#35.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:42 AM EDT Erika-2737673 To both of you. I will put my sacrifice, donatations and volunteering up against any of yours anywhere, anytime. Unlike you I put action where my words are. You're JUST TALKING. 2 votes#35.7 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:02 AM EDT bluegrassguitar I assume Erika and Sue are speaking mostly about what happened after Katrina in New Orleans. There have been other disasters (mid-West flooding, etc.) in which Americans showed an abundance of class. New Orleans was a disgrace, however. 4 votes#35.8 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:19 AM EDT .limbaughger Isnt this how Godizilla was born, from the radiation in the ocean? What monsters will come from all this? #36 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:03 AM EDT NoMoMoney-962921 I don't know amigo, but I will bet they are seated in congress as soon as they grow up. 3 votes#36.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:15 AM EDT .Diane 959 My heart goes out to this nation and its amazing people. The suffering from trauma and loss deserves our respect. To add to this natural catastrophe, a man made disaster seems too much to comprehend. ?Joking, even very cleverly, seems a bit insensitive and unfeeling. There are people from this country who can read these posts. 3 votes#37 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:04 AM EDT NoMoMoney-962921 Diane, thats all nice and stuff, but I expect the folks are a touch more concerned with other things right now than reading posts on a liberal, obscure, website. #37.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:10 AM EDT .NoMoMoney-962921 You say that now, but after one billing cycle, you would start sniveling, or be out getting gas, and start complaining to anyone that would listen, about these horrible fuel prices. #38 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:07 AM EDT.JBow-1472094 When I got my degree in Journalism many years ago, there was a thing called integrity. Among other things, we were challenged to check our facts and verify our sources. Whoever wrote this article must be from the new breed of reporters, who are more adept at writing science fiction or reporting for the latest sensationalist tabloid. Absolute garbage journalism. The writer–or writers–must have posted this fiction from his or her cozy little 22nd story office instead of actually going down on the street to see what is actually happening. Again, I challenge you: Show us a video of the panic. You won't and you can't, because it absolutely does not exist except in your devious little mind. 6 votes#39 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:10 AM EDT NoMoMoney-962921 Have you ever thought that perhaps none of what you ask for can be shown, because all the photographers and news folks have left already? 2 votes#39.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:11 AM EDT limbaughger So mr knowitall Jbow I suppose you live in Tokyo or your at least there now to know there is no truth to this. #39.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:18 AM EDT JBow-1472094 limbaughger: Yes I do, and yes, I know. 4 votes#39.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:25 AM EDT limbaughger then are people leaving like they are saying? #39.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:28 AM EDT NoMoMoney-962921 Sure JBow, and you are picking up tickets for the Elvis concert tonight, correct? #39.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:30 AM EDT JBow-1472094 Afraid not. Never liked Elvis. 2 votes#39.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:43 AM EDT NoMoMoney-962921 JBow, I hope you understand I am just needling you a little, I mean no disrespect, and if I was out of order, I apologize. #39.7 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:53 AM EDT plain bob Elvis Rocks… 1 vote#39.8 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:12 AM EDT Skup limbaughger – My sister lives in Tokyo. I spoke with her last night. There is no panic. This is a story designed to sell papers. Period. 4 votes#39.9 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:16 AM EDT JR in HB Skup, Agree. Our company's employees in Tokyo report EXACTLY what you say. Completely orderly. 2 votes#39.10 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:16 AM EDT .Santiman Are there shelters in Japan being prepared with radiation shielding foils and sheets made of lead? (Similar to http://www.primax-berlin.de/all/pdf/xrayprotection3.pdf, http://www.gravitausa.com/, http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/lead-sheet.html and other vendors/manufacturers) #40 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:15 AM EDT.John-3184390 The flood, lack of heat and electricity, and getting housing for all those who survived are immediate needs. The loved ones lost need some respect here, no mater what country or god you have. If you have never lived through a flood, be thankful. I, confident the Japanese probably have a better handle on their nuclear program than any other. They are doing what needs done. We are all in this together. #41 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:15 AM EDT.NoMoMoney-962921 This is Wolf Blitzer reporting live from the site of the crippled reactor, and no I did not shave my head, but the Japanese Government assures me that radiation levels are perfectly safe for humans. 1 vote#42 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:19 AM EDT.hamid-3184420 Hello To All Japanies If your Country is ruined by the earthquake you can come to afghanistan and live forever because ,an enormous land needs people talented like you, live there feel it's your land and be hanest for your land as you're being in japan ,, noone will say you something ,, regards hamid #43 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:23 AM EDT Erika-2737673 I would look at this offer REAL HARD! Anyone else see any Red Flags here? 1 vote#43.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:35 AM EDT NoMoMoney-962921 What time do you see your therapist today, you must be out of medication again, the only red flags I see is your are a whacko! 1 vote#43.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:47 AM EDT plain bob yep non infidels are welcome…from what i hear… #43.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:52 AM EDT .amisteree Lets be adults and keep fairy tales out of this. 2 votes#44 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:23 AM EDT NoMoMoney-962921 Fine! then quit posting. 2 votes#44.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:24 AM EDT JBow-1472094 Get back in your box. 1 vote#44.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:27 AM EDT NoMoMoney-962921 A Jumbo Jack sounds good right now, thanks for the suggestion, let me know how the Elvis concert goes tonight Einstein. #44.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:32 AM EDT Erika-2737673 You should take a good Hard Look in the Mirror, you arrogant s.o.b. #44.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:36 AM EDT NoMoMoney-962921 Would I use your hater mirror, or mine, anyway, chill out lady, you take yourself way to serious, aren't the soap operas on yet? #44.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:44 AM EDT .scurvydog I agree that there is not panic in Tokyo or the surrounding areas. I live in Saitama Prefecture and there is no panic here. The local governments are cooperating, adhering to the scheduled power outages. People are stockpiling goods, but there are still items on the shelves. I've spoken with some of my Japanese friends, too, and it seems like things are beginning to level off. In other words, the level of staple foods/items that were being bought up are beginning to balance out again. Also, the Japanese people are conducting themselves with the utmost civility. No panic here! 3 votes#45 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:29 AM EDT.tyler1701 Remember people, this is Japan not America. They don't get all fearful and panic like we do. If any country on the planet can work through this tragedy, it is Japan. If this was all going on in the US, we would be hording food, dealing with price spikes, looting and politicians blaming each other for everything from the others weren't prepared too It's God's wrath for allowing abortion. Give it a rest guys. Just wish them the best, say some prayers for them and help where you can. 4 votes#46 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:35 AM EDT Erika-2737673 Thankyou Tyler. You are correct. My thoughts and prayers are with all the people of Japan and their extended families at this time of crisis. The people of Japan have my utmost admiration and I will do whatever I am able to help. 2 votes#46.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:46 AM EDT .whatwouldjamesdo1 I'm no expert but anyone can see that these plants are clearly having a "meltdown" and anyone waiting around for the official word from their government will find out too late… #47 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:47 AM EDT Erika-2737673 Agreed #47.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:03 AM EDT JBow-1472094 Oh, you can foresee the future, can you? Do you also read Tarot cards? Or are you using a crystal ball? 2 votes#47.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:13 AM EDT .SWORD1965 Well if you are not panicking, you should. I recommend to put some distance, and natural obstacles between you and the radioactive place, and don't take to face value everything goverment says, also try to get a gas mask with good filters at least a C2A1 NBC. Of course you can always seat there and absorb the radiation and pray everything will be fine. #48 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:49 AM EDT plain bob Time distance and shielding are the three things to keep in mind around radiation… #48.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:57 AM EDT Erika-2737673 Ditto! Thankyou. #48.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:04 AM EDT JBow-1472094 If you've gotta go, you've gotta go. 1 vote#48.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:14 AM EDT .Ron-2997421 I really doubt there was "Panic" in Tokyo….why do these news groups hype crap like this., it's shameful! 2 votes#49 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:56 AM EDT joe wobblie Dear Tokyo; Get down under your desk or table, put your hands over your head, your head between your legs and kiss your A$$ goodbye! 1 vote#49.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:12 AM EDT JBow-1472094 When you had the latest CT scan of your head, they found nothing. Correct? 4 votes#49.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:16 AM EDT joe wobblie Never had a cat scan my head but I've seen people with their heads half gone and their brains on the ground. If you're interested go down to your local restaurant or butcher shop and order some. Scrambled eggs usually go good with them. Lotsa ketchup! 1 vote#49.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:44 PM EDT .Who ate my soup It would be interesting to see how we would handle a disaster like this in say Chicago. A town town pinned next to a lake that you can barely get out of on a Tuesday night. #50 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:03 AM EDT Erika-2737673 We are so ill-prepared it's frightening. We most certainly would not be able to conduct ourselves wih the same fortitude as the Japanese people are doing. 3 votes#50.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:07 AM EDT Sgt. Von Kroning Soup, Imagine if it happened in Detroit. 1 vote#50.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:08 AM EDT William Demuth I think it actually did happen in Detroit, it just never made the papers. Actually the boys from Detroit will get a leg up from this. Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, and Sony are all off line. Chevy's and X-Boxes shall see an uptick from this. #50.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:21 AM EDT .plain bob does California have a nuke plant.. 1 vote#51 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:04 AM EDT joe wobblie plain boob: Does it EVER! TWO! Squatting right on a fault and ready to $H!T and fall back in it! 1 vote#51.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:18 AM EDT plain bob what's the name of it..and thanks.. 1 vote#51.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:24 AM EDT William Demuth Diablo Canyon. Even an idiot thinks putting that on the edge of a cliff, next to the ocean on a fault is a REALLY bad idea. 2 votes#51.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:30 AM EDT plain bob hard to believe they put it near a fault line…hope it never lives up to its name…and thanks 1 vote#51.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:43 AM EDT joe wobblie plain bob Excuse me for being facetious but I thought you were joking. There are actually 4 nukes at peril on the San Andreas fault which runs just about the length of California. They are also on the shoreline of the Pacific Ocean and subject to tsunamis. They are 'Diablo Canyon' near Avila Beach and Songs units 1, 2 and 3 next to San Clemente. I have worked on all of them. Your Joe PS:"SONGS" stands for "San Onofre Nuclear Generating Stations" 1 vote#51.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:11 PM EDT joe wobblie Yes, I even think it was most senseless! They should ALL be filled IMMEDIATELY with concrete! THEN California should slide into the Ocean! 2 votes#51.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:25 PM EDT .William Demuth Does anyone have any info on the storage pools? I am looking for an idea about how much depleted fuel they are storing. I wanna do some critical mass calculations, because although this story seems like pure BS, I am also concerned that some of the "Worst Case Scenarios" that are being discussed might actually be underestimates. We have FOUR reactors plus fuel storage. Thats quite a bit of the nasty stuff! In addition to the potential for a REALLY big kaboom (Think biblical), I am also worried about a secondary Tsunami because of an after shock. #52 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:21 AM EDT.hyper-1697229 Panic? I see no signs of panic. I see no looting, screaming or cops beating people. I do see plenty of blankets,orderly distribution of food,posting of found people. I see people actually for food ,waiting for gas and not screaming at the guy in front of them. I see respect for the dead and their elders…perhaps there are lessons to be learned. As far as nukes are concerned this facility was built 30 years ago,a tsami wiped it out,not the earthquake. If you have an oil refinery explosion do u stop refining oil? If a bridge collapses do u not rebuild it? (well maybe today) If aplane crashes do you stop flying? The world 3 votes#53 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:29 AM EDT William Demuth I have gotta give them cultural credit. I was on the subway in NYC during the BIG blackout. Within minutes people became ANIMALS. I saw mothers with children looting, I saw men groping 14 year old girls, and I saw cops HIDING from the crowds. Cu-dos to the Japanese, stay sane and all will be worked out, but if they lose it, it shall become hell on earth. 2 votes#53.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:33 AM EDT .CortezTheKiller Let this panic in Japan be just a small example of what can and will take place if and when a few dirty bombs are detonated by terrorists in three or four major west coast American cities. As the nuclear fall out rides the jet stream across America a panic will ensue and thousands will panic with nowhere to go as they head to their closest international airports in an attempt to flee the country. With few options given by the govenment other than to "seal ourselves inside our homes with plastic and duct tape" (as Homeland Security recommended we do in case of a future terrorist attack) the first reaction will be to "get out!". What this means is a mass exodus of the country attempting to board flights. It also means a pilgimage of refugees attempting to land in foreign countries with nothing more than the clothes on their back and nowhere to go or stay. It means any nation that allows these refugees to enter their country will slowly see a draw on their homeless shelter resources designed for a small number of their own people and because of this every neighboring nation will have no choice but to deny Amercan passports. Fortunately for myself after 9/11 I was first in line to apply for my Irish Joint Citizneship Passport which as an Irish citizen will allow me to leave the US freely ahead of the clueless when "the ship hits the fan" here. With as slow as the US is in preparing this nation for a terrorist attack I've decided I would rather leave as a "coward" and then maybe return in 10 or so years when Homeland Security gets their heads out of their asses!.. 1 vote#54 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:30 AM EDT William Demuth Say what? You do understand that without the food grown in the midwest most Irish would be starving to death within six months. 1 vote#54.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:35 AM EDT Sgt. Von Kroning You sound angry. Did someone steal your Lucky Charm. Whatta Harp #54.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:57 AM EDT Skup CortezTheKiller – You should be a reporter for MSNBC, excellent sensationalism. First, there is no panic in Japan. Second, you need to read up on a "Dirty Bomb". There is no fallout from it. Third, please, please hop on that plane to Ireland… 3 votes#54.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:01 AM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 My real name is Keith Olbermann. But you can call me "Jack"! And to the citizens of Japan who are reading this, I have just one thing to say: My name says it all!!!! #54.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:46 PM EDT .Tina1970 And this is what happens when you mess with the unnatural…. #55 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:31 AM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 You want to mess with the "unnatural"? Well, you can just do what my name says, Tina, and you can enjoy it! #55.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:51 PM EDT Wow. Solar flares lashing out at Earth. Huge earthquakes knocking down cities. Tidal waves destroying coastlines. Nuke plants out of control. Weather gone amuck. Financial markets crash. Rebellion in North Africa. Oil prices skyrocket. And it isn't even 2012 yet. Stay tuned. 1 vote#57 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:01 AM EDT William Demuth Dogs sleeping with Cats shall be the next sign. So it is written, so shall it become. 1 vote#57.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:09 AM EDT Sgt. Von Kroning Cats & Dogs sleeping together The Mc Rib Sandwich makes it's return. I knew it was the beginning of the end once the Red Sox won the World Series. Been downhill since then. 2 votes#57.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:10 AM EDT Sgt. Von Kroning Whoa Willie! Must be on the same wavelength. Photo finish, beat me by a nose. Well done. #57.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:11 AM EDT .puddles-3156307 H bomb A bomb who cares, you know what he meant. Are you the person who runs up and down the forum commenting on everybodys spelling? GEEZ #58 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:06 AM EDT JBow-1472094 Only people with brains care to have facts straight instead of just passing around sloppy information. Of course, that lets you out. You seem to be a by-product of American education. How sad. 1 vote#58.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:25 AM EDT nkorb1 These nuclear plants are not like the A bomb or the H bomb. It's nothing like that. #58.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:31 PM EDT .pjhnsn8-1 It is sad to have to accept that we do not know how really bad things have gotten in Japan. They are a proud people so there will be no panic, but the reporting of accurate levels will be minamized to keep face. This is a dangerous decision, if Russia's radiation levels are rising, then we know the numbers reported are not valid. #59 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:06 AM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Today, no more Japanese. Hopefully tomorrow, no more Iranians and Arabs. Thank you, God! #59.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:52 PM EDT nkorb1 What an animalistic jerk you are. Your low class comments only show where your intellect resides. You add nothing to this conversation and your actual comments are inflammatory to say the least. Go find your mum. Tell her to wash your mouth out with soap…it's the closest thing to cleaning up your mind. #59.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:33 PM EDT .ChuckHartinger There are over 440 nuclear power plants scattered worldwide; yet it only took one to send stock markets into a panic, threaten the global food chain, and cause permanent damage to people and the environment. The scary part is to see how completely helpless we are without electricity – and how the lack of it can bring life to a standstill. Is it time to rethink our priorities? #60 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:07 AM EDT.Rob99 A cover-up? America is the king of cover-ups lately. 9/11 was the biggest. Do you think the feds or the state was gonna say how much toxic building and protection material like asbestos the twin towers was made of? Nooooo way. Now, the truth is coming out after all these years. 1 vote#61 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:23 AM EDT.Claudia Bess I am just waiting for that inbred idiot Pat Robertson to start blaming all this on God's wrath against gays. 2 votes#62 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:33 AM EDT.jphelps-1511 Ah, the French running away once again. #63 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:36 AM EDT Who ate my soup It pains me to say this,,,,they might be right. AHHH, CRAMP #63.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:44 AM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Speaking of the French, here's an interesting fact: In the entire history of France, they have won only one war. What war was that? Why, it was the French Revolution? And why were they able to win the French Revolution? It's simple – THEY FOUGHT THE FRENCH!!! ROTFLMAO!!! AND MY NAME SAYS IT ALL!!!! #63.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:54 PM EDT .mdent1022 Everything seems to have order in Japan. Haven't read about looting. No rioting. Seems that some other places could take notes from Japan and learn. I can't imagine what it's like there. The photos are horrific to look at. Sending what I can to help along with a lot of prayers 3 votes#64 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:36 AM EDT JBow-1472094 Many thanks! #64.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:28 AM EDT jphelps-1511 The Japanese seem to be a more honest people than other countries where lowlifes take any situation to loot not for necessity, but for the simple act of robbery. Very common in the US from certain groups of people. 1 vote#64.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:31 AM EDT .Wally-1853299 It was said on the "Today" show that there is no rioting or looting and that people are doing their best to help each other. What a concept…you would never find that kind of cooperation or community spirit here in the U.S. So, for sensationalism and fear mongering stay here and read what MSNBC spews out. CNN is almost as bad. If you want the truth about what is going on, go to Fox News. 2 votes#65 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:44 AM EDT mynameisearlene Who told you that? Fox news? 2 votes#65.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:54 AM EDT JBow-1472094 Faux News? Are you joking? 2 votes#65.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:29 AM EDT SHAWN-1387469 Want the truth go to BBC! 2 votes#65.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:52 AM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350Deleted joe wobblie "Pravda" MEANS "Truth"! "Fox" MEANS "Horse Manure"! 1 vote#65.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:14 PM EDT .cookykamp Who says Japanese people are not capable of panic? Didn't any of you see the movie "Godzilla"??? #66 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:44 AM EDT Who ate my soup You mean the one in New York City where our army blew everything up? #66.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:51 AM EDT .David Cooley If anyone knows Tomoko Nakano – Tokyo- F- Age 39 Studied in America- once was girlfriend to D. Cooley. Please have her email me to let me know that she and her family are o.k.?!! dmcools@msn.com #67 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:15 AM EDT William Demuth Go to the google page and look #67.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:24 AM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 I know Tomoko Kanano! She gave a great hand job! 1 vote#67.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:56 PM EDT .general clone bemson and they worry about irans, n koreas nuclear problem,and they dont even have any control of what they have in there own nations,go figure #68 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:25 AM EDT JBow-1472094 Wow! Did you actually attend school? Or perhaps English is your second language? #68.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:32 AM EDT SHAWN-1387469 Jbow, lay off , these people are the product of texting and it will be the end of English as we know it. #68.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:54 AM EDT .JBow-1472094 Again! Instead of talking about the panic, show us. A picture is worth a thousand words. Obviously you can't do so, because it doesn't exist except in your demented little mind. 2 votes#69 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:36 AM EDT Monkey@Keyboard OK. You got it. Panic in Japan: #69.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:48 PM EDT .tj-2041860 No looting. No rioting. Know why? No multi culturalism. Simple. All the people are Japs. No nigs, no lowlifes. 1 vote#70 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:45 AM EDT Who ate my soup Who all qualifies as a lowlife? Just checking in case I need to burn a cross in my yard too. #70.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:52 AM EDT JBow-1472094 No multiculturalism? That shows how little you apparently know about Japan. Though the population is mainly of Japanese ethnicity, there are many Koreans and Chinese as well as numerous other ethnic groups living here. And please don't use the word "Japs". That is a slur word from WWII. They are Japanese. 1 vote#70.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:27 PM EDT winsettz JBow, you may be asking too much of someone who refers to black people as nigs. And yes, Japan has a mixed ethnic composition to include a sizeable Korean contigent, maybe a few Chinese. However to the ignorant tj "they all look alike". 1 vote#70.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:53 PM EDT tj-2041860 Actually, Koreans make up about 1%, other groups less than that. Look it up. 1 vote#70.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:59 PM EDT winsettz A quick search shows that "everyone else" (including Koreans) is probably less than that one percent, which to the heart of the matter means you are correct, tj. 1 vote#70.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:05 PM EDT nkorb1 When I was a girl, my mum taught me that the word nig meant either the color black, or trash. But she also told me that there are a great many people who are white, yellow, and other colors who are nig. nigs are people who don't value themselves or anyone else. I don't know a whole lot of those kind of people who are black people. But she also told me, that if you can identify something, you've most often indulged. Could that be closer to the truth, tj? #70.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:39 PM EDT .Mofongo The Japanese people are definitely a class act. A tip of the hat to them and their government for the civilized response to this bag of lemons the planet has served up. They will no doubt find a way to make a superior lemonade. 2 votes#71 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:49 AM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Boy, they sure are a "class act". Remember Pearl Harbor? What about the Bataan death march? I just love those classy Japs. They are getting what is due them. #71.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:58 PM EDT nkorb1 Obviously that was a different time. Hopefully, that isn't how they are now. But God said judgement was his, not ours. I choose to pray for them, not bring up old history. #71.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:42 PM EDT Mofongo Jack, the war ended over 65 years ago. And by the way, we nuked two of their cities in the only act of nuclear war the planet has ever seen. I think that sort of makes us even. And have you ever heard of colonialism Jack? That sort of left a bad taste in the mouth of a lot of Asian countries. We're friends with Japan now. We have an extensive trading relationship with them. Some people in this country buy Japanese cars although I'm certain you're not one of them. I suppose you'd have us rejoice at their misfortune and stand with our boot on their neck. That's how wars get started Jack. People with nothing to lose see little downside to conflict. I'd rather have friends than enemies. #71.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:25 PM EDT .Ulvskog Darnit, why won't these people be reasonable and panic like good American's? We've got news stories to make up here! They're taking food right out of our children's mouths! What amuses me most is the breathless reporting by people who have probably never even met a Japanese person in their entire lives. Japanese society is really pretty calm. They've survived worse. 1 vote#72 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:00 PM EDT.tj-2041860 Comment collapsed by the community A clean orderly, relatively crime free society. Know why? No blacks. How many nig live in Japan? Very close to zero. they arent allowed in. 1 vote#73 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:11 PM EDTSallyHow many nig live in Japan? Very close to zero. they arent allowed in. tj-2041860, you are suspended for a week for violating rule # 5 of the Code of Honor all over the place lately. Don't. 1 vote#73.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:15 PM EDT. jbird I'm hoping my Reverend's daughter traveled further south with friends, as she was considering. She had been in NW Tokyo at the time of the quake. #74 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:16 PM EDT nkorb1 We'll pray that she's found safe and sound. In Jesus name. #74.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:43 PM EDT jbird Thank you, and thank God for Skype too. I do believe it's helping to keep our Reverend calm. #74.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:55 PM EDT .joe wobblie Yes I even think It was senseless! They should ALL be filled Immediately with concrete! THEN California should slide into the ocean! 1 vote#75 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:19 PM EDT.bobcat-2885448 well if radio active dust is gonna spread hopefully the wind will dump it on a close north korea …. #76 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:22 PM EDT nkorb1 One has to wonder how much the Korean experimentation regarding nuclear energy has to do with the severity of the earthquake and the tsunami. #76.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:45 PM EDT .romilio . #77 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:27 PM EDT.dave h-1558410 I would love to send all right wing Republican christians into the heart of this meltdown. What an easy way to get rid of these ghouls once and for all! #78 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:28 PM EDT Brent-733131 Simply evil #78.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:03 PM EDT nkorb1 ghoul? dave h-1558410…I will pray for you. God help a heart that would wish something like that on another human being. There is something inherently evil residing in your heart. #78.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:46 PM EDT .K-727 Porcine Aviator I agree with you 100%. There is no way to make nuclear power completely and totally safe. I don't see how anyone can say differently with the current crisis in Japan. Even with "safer" nuclear plants, there could be bigger earthquakes or tsunamis, terrorists, or just plain human error, that could jeopardize their safety. Until nuclear power is 100% safe (which is never), it's too big of a risk. 1 vote#79 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:32 PM EDT nkorb1 Porcine, I think I'm beginning to agree with you. #79.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:47 PM EDT .Saint Gregor I love the first comment I read: "Stop the stupid hype!" And a teenager from Seattle in the town with the burning chemical plant showed a journalist that the rest of the town in his area was not damaged, at least on the exterior walls in his area. The journalist are going for the blood and guts, and I don't discount what my eyes have seen on the video, but PLEASE don't overdramatize! THIS IS NOT THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER, e.g. "MARTIANS TAKE OVER JAPAN! MUTANT BLOBS NOW EATING HUMANS IN TOKYO!" #80 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:32 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Well, you can just do as my name says! #80.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:47 PM EDT nkorb1 typical #80.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:49 PM EDT Knowing this countries recent luck the radiation will create a real life Godzilla. #86 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:47 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Now that's a f*cking riot! 1 vote#86.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:48 PM EDT .Jack Meoff-3185350 Comment collapsed by the community It's too bad this tradgedy didn't occur in Iran or China (two countries who we would be better off if they were simply nuked)! 1 vote#87 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:49 PM EDTBrent-733131Go back to your middle school, troll. #87.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:54 PM EDTJack Meoff-3185350Hey Brent, you are "crude". (Get it? "Brent Crude"? ROTFLMAO!!!!) #87.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:09 PM EDT. klausproject Well lets hope the Japanese do the right thing and not run for the hills If there is a meltdown it will be just like the Russian reactor there is only one way to seal it and that's by air. There where 20 Russian helicopter pilots knowing the risks dropped graphite in there case to seal the reactor most of them died within two weeks Sacrifice for the mother land this case will be for Japan. Good luck #88 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:54 PM EDT nkorb1 But they had no containment. It was going to explode. #88.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:57 PM EDT .Carl Lacey The gracious and peaceful people in Japan have put some Americans to shame. The protestors in Wisconsin could certainly take a lesson from these wonderful people who are willing to share with others when they have very little to offer. I think the "shame" was misdirected and should have been aimed at violent greedy union protestors! My family's prayers go out to the Japanese people each and every day. 1 vote#89 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:55 PM EDT nkorb1 As do the prayers of me and my family. #89.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:58 PM EDT .Pelagio Really, no matter what after looking at all that happened in Japan and seeing those people behave like human beings , I really would like to move to japan. People there are polite, educated, they have not gone panicking to streets looting the stores and behaving like usually we see here in USA and other parts of the worlds. God, Japanese people are actually what a human being should be. Compare Katrina, New Orleans and Japan. From the President to the last citizen. Compare. 1 vote#90 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:57 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Comment collapsed by the community Who is stopping you, butt-face? #90.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:00 PM EDT rojo-2384454 Hey Jack your sign in relates to your mentality. He's right your an idiot. 1 vote#90.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:22 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Hey Rojo, learn how to spell before you call someone an idiot. (It's "you're", not "your", you moron.) #90.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:08 PM EDT nkorb1 They must have very good leaders and teachers. I don't think there is any disagreement between their teachers and their parents. Japanese children are taught manners and to consider others…school is in agreement with Parents, and the government works within the traditions of its people. I'm a Christian, and I would hope that my fellow Christians would be as supportive and loving with one another. #90.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:00 PM EDT .Carl Lacey I stand with the gracious people of Japan. They have put some Americans to shame. The protestors in Wisconsin could certainly take a lesson from these wonderful people who are willing to share with others when they have very little to offer. I think the "shame" was misdirected and should have beem aimed at violent greedy union protestors. My family's prayers go out to the Japanese people aach and every dat! 2 votes#91 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:59 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 It's just too bad this didn't happen in Iran. No loss there, trust me. #91.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:02 PM EDT Robert Alexander Carl, you are so full of BS! Blame the unions Japan gets mowed over by a natural calamity! How on earth did you find a link between the two? Where do you get this load of anti-union inflamatory? The webmaster should have blocked your comments. I am not a union man, but I also don't appreciate the government looting the union's benefits for the sake of saving money they splurged on wasteful programs and annual raises and bonuses. You want to save money, Mr. Pres? Are you listening Carl Lacey? CUTTOFF ALL FOREIGN AID! Problem solved. Now, back to Japan and it's suffering massess …. 1 vote#91.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:05 PM EDT .Freemannogod @JBow-1472094 in another comment on this vine on page 2 There it is again another wonder boy comment, you are starting to sound like MMm? Let me see now……OH ya that actor Charlie Brown or is it Sheen? anyways DUH? JBow……….WINNING! ya right your nothing but a 2 bit tosser who thinks he knows everything about everyone…oh ya and your very good at being rude in the process. What a MAN wanker LOL have a good day there in that high rise of yours. #92 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:01 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 ROTFLMAO!!! Hey JBow, you can just do what my name says! #92.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:03 PM EDT Freemannogod I don't make a habit of attacking a blogger, but this one guy is just down right rude when it comes to anyone having there own thoughts about anything. He thinks he is MR BIG mouth with his spell checker and all that WIKI knowledge of his. what a Wanker his nick name should be J Blows for the way he puts people down on this vine all the time. You better be wise enough to run if you get another tremor there buddy boy #92.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:08 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Comment collapsed by the community That's telling him! ROTFLMAO!! And, by the way, my name says it all!!! #92.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:14 PM EDT nkorb1 Just hit the number one on Mr. Meoff's comments and hit either inflammatory or not adding to the discussion. Or, simply ignore him…there is a place there as well. But I would rather know the kind of filthy comments children make and let the adults know when ignorance shows its ugly face. #92.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:02 PM EDT justiceprincess-2671891 Thank you for your help, nkorb. #92.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:36 PM EDT .Robert Alexander I truly appreciate the voices of calm and reason here. The media is ready to blast the airwaves with cries of "Panic" in the wordl. I don't see Tokyo residents running amok, nor assaulting non Japanese, looting, or blaming everything on anyone. The civility of the Japanese is admirable. But then, in that society, it is a culture thing. I already hear tears of fear and doom in my office, and I work in Washington D.C.! The facts listed here by one of you is the fact of reality of radiation. So few citizens died from radiation after the atomic bombs in Japan that this MUST be published and republished everywhere to alleviate the hyped up imaginary terror. A radiation leak is not nuclear war. I visited TMI and I was not contaminated, and I don't glow in the dark. Calm down people, take your Prozac and calmly go to work like tomorrow is a three day weekend. 1 vote#93 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:10 PM EDT Freemannogod I can respect your comment, but that other fellow is a real tank job. I think the media always pulls the trigger switch to far sometimes, but you never know right? This one blogger is a real rude SOB when he makes a reply to someone that says anything he thinks is wrong. We all have are own thoughts about this serious problem, and I think all bloggers should show some restraint when they put down others that's all I am saying. Cheers mate #93.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:17 PM EDT nkorb1 It's not been very long since Korea began conducting experiments. We've already been having birds flying and dying midair…in entire flocks and huge amounts of fish beaching themselves and dying to the degree where they had to be cleaned up. I'm afraid we don't only have a problem with the possibility of these places blowing up and spewing more radiation, settling into the ground. But right now, we're so worried about the Japanese people. They are right there, and now there are thousands perhaps buried under debris and it's gong to snow there for several days. I want to do something and I don't know what to do. Is there anyone in this forum who could organize a collection for those who are not sheltered? #93.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:07 PM EDT justiceprincess-2671891 TO NKORB: I know that many people shy away from donating to the International Red Cross due to past scandals of misuse of funds. If you are one of those, I read earlier today on the Doctors Without Borders web site that they are sending in teams to do needs assessments, but they are not yet to the point where they are soliciting donations. I think that there is a national group known as the Japanese American Society, or a name very similar to that. If you google them, I'm sure there would be some helpful info on their site. Best of luck, and it's nice to see how generous many people are. #93.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:42 PM EDT .Grover-3015838 watching CNN or MSNBC is sickening – they create hype to sell ratings nothing objecticve about their reporting. If I have to see Anderson Cooper one more time on TV I'm ready to throw my TV out the window. Keep reporting the same thing over and over…..not informative and a waste of time. Sick of american media!!!!!! #94 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:12 PM EDT Freemannogod I agree its nothing but re-runs of the same thing. #94.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:21 PM EDT .Gregorian MSNBC, retract this story! There is no panic. Shame on you! #95 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:14 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Comment collapsed by the community And MSNBC, while you are at it, do what my name says! #95.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:15 PM EDT Gouranga Wait, Are you saying you want fair and balanced reporting from a News organizations? Next thing you know your psychos will be asking for the news to all be accurate too. Geez. To those of you actually over there, keep posting. The comments are about our only chance of getting real information. #95.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:19 PM EDT Freemannogod @Jack Meoff-3185350 That was funny mate LMFAO cheers #95.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:22 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Thanks! #95.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:47 PM EDT nkorb1 Jack, why don't you actually try not being funny and actually join in the conversation? #95.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:08 PM EDT .Bill H-1430012 There is more pandemonium in Madison, Wisconsin than Tokyo, Japan. #96 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:18 PM EDT.rojo-2384454 What about the GOD thing? Always works for me. No one mentions the main man and really folks it's all about him. He can fix it or not. The way you guys and gals have been ignoring him lately well good luck. That's all you'll have and if that's it odds are against you. #97 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:18 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Comment collapsed by the community You are 100% correct. God hates Japs. Next in line: Iranians! Mark my words, and do what my name says! #97.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:20 PM EDT nkorb1 Rojo…God said judgement was his. We should be praying and I think most of us are. In our homes, with our families and in our churches. God can make it better, and I don't know if you realize it, but I think his hand is there. All of those places could have exploded from the Tsunami…instead, there is time to try and fix it and there are people trying to do that. #97.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:10 PM EDT .Concerned Citizen in IL Here's an idea! Why don't American car manufacturers ramp up production to pick up the slack from the Japanese automakers? Oh wait, I forgot. We get all our parts and our technological knowhow from Japan. Whoops..way to go Wall Street!!! NOT! 1 vote#98 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:19 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Comment collapsed by the community Here's another idea: Why don't you just pull down you pants and take a dump on your mother? #98.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:22 PM EDT nkorb1 The people who created the manufacturing did NOT die. I don't believe they will miss a glitch. We have plants here that can reasonably be converted, and jobs that can be created, doing just that. We need to return to our manufacturing roots anyway…just as we need to be mining our own natural resources, rather than being beholden to anyone else. #98.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:12 PM EDT .Starderup Chernobyl never happened. Does that make everybody feel better? #99 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:23 PM EDT Freemannogod I think the people that lived there would have like that line LOL cheers mate #99.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:24 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 It did happen, and it was good. Why you ask? Because now, if we are walking down a dark street and we see a pair of glowing balls, we know that we are near a Russian/Ukranian man! #99.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:25 PM EDT LetsPlayFair-2938571 Exactly, just like Three Mile Island and Love Canal. #99.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:31 PM EDT .suigetsu I cannot agree more with many who expressed that there a lot of media Hype. I am so sick of the way this has been covered by some of the media. It is totally about "rating" and what they can do to make things more interesting. It is exploiting this huge tragedy. There is something very "sick" about that. #100 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:26 PM EDT.LetsPlayFair-2938571 " U.S. banking giant Citigroup said it was keeping workers in Tokyo informed but there were no evacuation orders, said a spokesman, adding the bank was closely following guidance by the U.S. Embassy". It figures as long as there is money involved the United States will stay to make as much as possible killing all the workers. Whatever they are told by the embassy is a pack of lies. They lied to the soldiers in Vietnam about Agent Orange, then look what happened, They lied to all the people that stood by and watched the Nuclear detonations on the atolls and Nevada, most have died from nuclear poisoning, all to further the American cause. Its about time that this government , full of imbeciles and liers tell the population the truth about what they are getting themselves into rather than wait for them to die and not have to tell them anything. #101 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:30 PM EDT.Bobbis opinion Information for those who want it. A company in arizona, Medical Corp,as of yesterday was taking orders for K103 potassium iodate. The order will be here friday and will ship out the following monday.13.99 a bottle 1-800-480-1277 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-800-480-1277 end_of_the_skype_highlighting #102 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:30 PM EDT nkorb1 Alot of people who have allergies can have reactions to iodine. People who underlying thyroid problems can have reactions. It's not good to begin taking any meds til we know what is going to happen. Not without a Drs. okay. #102.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:15 PM EDT .hemnebob ••Officials in Tokyo — 150 miles to the south of the plant — said radiation in the capital was 10 times normal by evening but there was no threat to human health.•• now who is going to believe the officials when they announce the radiation levels were TEN TIMES normal levels and then think that people would want to believe it isn't threatening to human health? #103 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:31 PM EDT.jhorne – boston Dear Doc, SueM, JK, and Bluegrass – I am always amazed by the ability of racists, or at least, people with racists attitudes, to inject their foul and wrong-thinking ideas into a subject so off the topic of race. All of you are idiots. Assuming the Japanese are as well-behaved in such a situation as you claim, did either one of you dimwits consider that the US government's response, once they got around to responding, of telling folks to pile into a stadium where there would be inadeqaute food and water, was downright inhumane, and would turn even the most civilized person into an animal? Did you itforbrains consider whether the Japanese government's response was in any way similar to that of our own? In Japan, is there spite between the haves and have nots along racial lines? To you I say, hi racists! Your ignorance suits you well. #104 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:38 PM EDT nkorb1 My brother was one of the psychologists who were at that shelter. Food was shipped in…nobody was entirely prepared for the amount of people…but the people were pigs who thought everyone owed them. They took money for housing and demanded more and they weren't clean. They fought with the each other and talked to the people who were trying to help them as if they were garbage. Those people didn't owe you anything…but they really tried. There were people of color who acted like ladies and gentlmen….but for the most part, those who acted out there, earned whatever societal namecalling they got. Did you think housing could gotten for everyone there overnight? Did you think anyone could plan for what happened in Louisiana? But it's never enough, is it? Why do you think taxpayers are tiring of paying more and higher taxes all the time. It just never ends. The Japanese live according to a culture of carng for one another, and expectinng to work. When they are given something, they are grateful, and patient. They trust and they don't berate each other or the officials who are trying to keep them safe. Just as the floods in Louisiana were a natural disaster, so too was this Tsunami and earthquakes. Perhaps we can all learn from them. #104.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:21 PM EDT .Tanja-1966884 Angela Merkel is a clever woman. #105 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:39 PM EDT.Grover-3015838 Shinjuku is apparently 10x the normal level of radiation but people aren't panicking yet. I do feel things are going to get worse though. Just don't watch the US media because they're going to spin it as if the entire city of Tokyo is in a panic with people trying to get out of the city. 1 vote#106 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:39 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Well, if the population of Japan drops significantly, then there will be more food and oil for the rest of us! #106.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:46 PM EDT nkorb1 Watch Fox News. There is much information and no one is reporting panic. They are, on the other hand, attempting to calm all of us by letting us know what actually is happening. #106.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:24 PM EDT .Alan-2776505 Spoke to friends in Tokyo and they said there is no panic just concern for their fellow countrymen in the north. What is this bull about panic? Why does MSNBC just make things up? Whatever happened to truth in reporting? How sad that the Japanese people are going thru this and this News organization distorts facts and makes up stories! #107 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:46 PM EDT nkorb1 If I'd been relocated without knowing what happened with my loved ones, I would be hysterical. And i'm sure a good many of the Japanese people are grieving and worried…on top of going through this. Instead of arguing with one another, could we all get together and start sending care packages? They need food and flashlights and batteries and toilet paper and warm clothing and blankets. Most of those people have lost everything. Tons of towlettes might help too. #107.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:26 PM EDT .Alan-2776505 Why do so many imbeciles write stupid things on MSNBC? If you can't contribute something positive then why do you even open your mouth? Why don't you learn about the effects of Radiation before you start opening your traps. Imbeciles!!!! #108 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:50 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Comment collapsed by the community Alan, why don't you just ask your father if he would pull down his pants so you can suck off his wanker? #108.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:54 PM EDT Alan-2776505 Jack, I see you are that Imbecile that we all talk about. To use this expression just shows the upbringing you have had. Good luck in life you need it. 1 vote#108.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:59 PM EDT Bobbis opinion Jack, you have been posting all your terrible language on all the other sights today . Why don't you get a life or actually try to help. Remember you will account for every word that comes out of your mouth to the lord jesus. 1 vote#108.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:59 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Comment collapsed by the community Jesus is laughing his you-know-what off as we speak! Since most of the Japs don't believe in Jesus or recognize him as the son of Godzilla, Jesus has decided to smite them with radiation! Go Jesus!!! #108.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:02 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Comment collapsed by the community Hey Alan, are you done servicing you father yet? Good boy. Woof woof woof. #108.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:03 PM EDT .Emma-2599691 I was listening to American journalists that were surprised that their car wasn't looted by Japanese (they had gasoline in it), they told that during Catrina they were robed. #109 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:13 PM EDT nkorb1 There is a different kind of people in Louisiana. We saw all the hands out there and all the schemers who took money and wanted more. We've seen them and experienced those who didn't return. The people in Lousiana make great sport of the fact that they go by anyone else's rules and stealing is kind of a matter of course…and that became obvious. The people of Japan appear to care for one another. Something we don't see much of here. 1 vote#109.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:47 PM EDT DixieDarling I admire the Japanese for keeping calm and dignified during all this. My prayers are with these strong and capable people as they WORK to get their lives back to normal – and I know they will. There is nothing lazy about them and they never complain… we should all watch carefully how they overcome and recover from this devastating event. I am glad to know the U.S. is sending supplies and assistance to aid in their efforts to rebuild their lives. #109.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:16 PM EDT DixieDarling I admire the Japanese for keeping calm and dignified during all this. My prayers are with these strong and capable people as they WORK to get their lives back to normal – and I know they will. There is nothing lazy about them and they never complain… we should all watch carefully how they overcome and recover from this devastating event. I am glad to know the U.S. is sending supplies and assistance to aid in their efforts to rebuild their lives. #109.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:17 PM EDT Robert Alexander Excellent topic, Dixie: Culture; Race; Religion. The Japanese are virulent racists. They believe to be the superior in all Asia, thus, WW II (mostly a racial war). The Japanese slaughtered other races and religions by the millions with hardly a flinch. Even today they don't give a crap. But it's what kept Japan strong and vital. They are one race, one people, one nation, one voice. Everyone else is subhuman, they feel. In the U.S.: We are many of many and many more. The downside of us/U.S. is that each race/religion/culture has little in common with the other(s) the constitution notwithstanding. It reads we're all equal, but that's just on paper, not reality. Katrina was a shameful disaster bc the race card was played once again. The mayor was black, many of the poor that lost the most were black, a good number of those who complained, were black, a big number of those who died, where black, and the powers that be, were white. Katrina brought out the worse in all of us/U.S. Even to this day we play the blame game, the racial game. If Katrina had been in Japan (think today) it would not resulted in the same. We are all racists when it comes to blaming, during a political or police crisis, and when we’re afraid. To survive, perhaps it is best to tighten ranks; keep everyone else out. The law of the jungle. Lion prides survive bc they eat everyone else. Most animals and insects do much the same. Millions of Jews were annihilated by the Nazis, but many outlasted to tell their story. Millions of Chinese were squashed by the Imperial forces of Japan, and they too lived to retell the horror. These survivors made certain to close the gates this time, to keep the riff-raff out, and produced Israel, and China. China went in to hibernation while Chairman Mao eliminated his real and imagined enemies for decades. Israel, a sliver of a nation, they opened to all Jews of the world (note:” Only Jews need apply), endured three major wars with 7 x 1 odds, and won each time. Japan will survive. It’s their distaste for other ethnic groups and foreign cultures. They won’t allow this culture to be “infected” by other races and religions. Their racism is their strength; unadulterated by assorted aliens. Bonding like a fort of steel, Japan subtly shouts: “Everyone else, get out!” They are one sealed race, which makes them nearly indestructible. I say “nearly”, for the free world may have slammed dunked them in WW II, but look at the years it took and the price paid to win. #109.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:40 PM EDT .Freemannogod Some days I feel like crap, and today is one of those days. I wake up tune into the world media network then man oh man. I really feel like @!$%#e. The world is one big hole in the ground with a box around it, and sometimes we forget to shut the door, and all the flies get out. This is the world I see these days, Greed hate war bad calls, BS reality T.V news re-runs blah blah blah it just feels like when we get one problem fixed another 700 million start, and I don't mean the big Bank bailout, but that sucked too. I think if I where rich like Billy boy Gates or that old fart Warren But hole. I would buy a nice house by the sea so when an earth quake or whatever would happen, I could rush over to my 120,000 computer system, and tell the whole bloody world……….hey!!!! you wana know how high the wave is that's about to wipe me off the face of the bloody map? Well sorry, I don't give out that kind of info, its to real go wait and watch it unfold over and over and over again on C N N. I have had a really bad day later mates. No harm no foul just me…………speaking my own bloody mind the way I see it. cheers #110 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:14 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Whatever you are smoking, I want some! #110.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:26 PM EDT Freemannogod Its a special blend, and very rare these days, it is called reality!!!!!! LMAO cheers #110.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:27 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 ROTLMAO!!! EXCELLENT!!!! #110.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:30 PM EDT Unfortunately if this disaster escalates, not only will Japan suffer, but thanks to the west to east jet stream, Americans will also be affected in Hawaii and the west coast. This tragedy is just what the extreme environmental movement has been waiting for-and will capitalize on it by killing the nuclear industry-the only hope for worldwide energy needs. Their false belief that wind and solar can replace, clean coal, nuclear and fosssil driven power plants will result in loss of capacity and all the collateral effects of such folly on our standard of living, economy and very way of life! #113 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:18 PM EDT Hank-1921206 Yeah, those extreme evironmentalists will get upset if if the radiation from this affects Hawaii and California. How about we just don't tell them if that happens ?? Shhhhhh. #113.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:22 PM EDT nkorb1 Were you aware that we have earthquake faults all across this nation? Were you aware that our politicians lie to us? I think it's time for all of us to learn more and to perhaps ask some more questions while we risk the lives our children. And I'm no environmental wacko, but I have to tell you, they might have something. #113.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:43 PM EDT timb2 There is no doubt we humans have changed the environment to a significant degree by our wasteful and irresponsible actions by polluting the environment and over exploiting natural resources. It is time to embrace environmentally friendly solutions – whatever those may be – which is also beneficial to us in the long run and learn to live with less. This is the key moment for our choice, else nature will continue to take its toll on human life and their "possessions". #113.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:04 PM EDT .oatis Anyone who wants to ban nuke plants then pay my electricity bill when it hits $20 per KWH…. I live less than 50 miles from the largest in the US and feel safe. Look, the fact is this was one of the top 3 worse earthquakes in world history as we know it and it is not that bad when all things are considered. Everything is not a conspiracy. I am sure the Gov of Japan is telling enough to inform but not enough to panic. Like any responsible gov would. The "save the earth" people crack me up…. NO COAL fired plants we are hurting the earth as they type on their electrically powered computer made from plastics made from oil, driving their hybrid made from oil products and toxic chemicals to produce the battery. Nothing is for free, either deal with the warming temps, deal with living next to a nuke plant or live in the dark and walk in bare feet with no clothes. Until you "green" people are willing to do that, stop bagging on those who try to create alternate ways for you to keep your computer, your car and everything else you use every day….. 1 vote#114 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:24 PM EDT nkorb1 When they have to cool the reactors with ocean water, where now is that water return to…back to the ocean? Is it going to kill our fish? Most radiation is ingested. In this newest explosion, the radiation will not dissipate, it will sink into the ground…that's what we've been told. What happens to it then? Will it get into the soil in which people grow crops and export to the United States? There are alot of legitimate questions and while I can appreciate your comforting words, the rest of us have a right to answers. #114.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:38 PM EDT nkorb1 At this particular moment, perhaps living in the dark, by candle and oil lamps and pumping my water from a well, looks awfully attractive. Horse and buggy isn't as expensive as gasoline and oil, and since the wackos here won't let us drill, and our people haven't seen fit to throw the wierdos out so we can get at our own natural resources, I don't want to be blown up or attacked or subservient to the Middle East for my oil. Camping out isn't such a bad idea. #114.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:41 PM EDT timb2 oatis – Whoever said you need electricity to lead a life? You could be a sage wanting nothing in the foothills of the Himalayas or a Monk in the high altitudes of those mountains. Ancient societies did not have electricity yet they survived and the reason of our being here at present. Here we are consuming and gorging on nature's bounty in modern times as though this was a birthright. Let us not take our blessings for granted. Start small, consume less and less, develop true and binding relationships with people outside of facebook and their ilk, learn to share your bounty and blessings with others less fortunate and the list could go on and on…. but who cares or listens these days? #114.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:14 PM EDT oatis The funny part of the three of your arguments is NONE of you do it. You could live in the woods, off the land but you CHOOSE to live in a house, use a computer and drive a car. Don't use the resources and then point fingers. Enviromentalists are the biggest joke on plannet earth……Live how you tell me to live and I will listen to you….. 1 vote#114.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:28 PM EDT .believes in free enterprise I spoke to my son this morning via Skype from Tokyo… he told me NOT to listen to the media over here – are blowing things out of proportion and it is making things WORSE for the people there!!!! The media here has an AGENDA – it is to stop nuclear power! My son did send his wife and two year old daughter to California because my daughter-in-law did not feel comfortable staying with the baby…. so they arrived in LA earlier this afternoon…. my son, unfortunately has to stay for work until the US Embassy tells them to leave… I did notice that the FIRST embassy to send their people home was FRANCE and I am NOT surprised by this. #115 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:27 PM EDT Hank-1921206 The media is blowing things out of proportion but he sent his wife and baby out of the country. And your son, in your words, "unfortunately has to stay for work". And you don't see the contradiction there, right ? #115.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:32 PM EDT timb2 It is not a contradiction but conviction. He seems convinced by the media hype and is concerned his son had to stay. You can't beat US media can you? #115.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:18 PM EDT .ippon Rush says don't worry and he knows, he's a radio talk show host. 1 vote#116 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:28 PM EDT believes in free enterprise I don't know if Rush knows or not but my son is there and he knows. 1 vote#116.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:29 PM EDT Hank-1921206 Your son is an expert on failures at nuclear power plants too ?? lol, you're full of it. #116.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:33 PM EDT nkorb1 Rush and Fox News are trying to do the responsible thing by keeping everyone calm. He knows we're all afraid…isn't it funny that our so called President hasn't cared about any of that? #116.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:34 PM EDT ippon Rush is such a calming influence. 1 vote#116.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:36 PM EDT believes in free enterprise to Hank up above – I didn't say my son is a nuclear expert…. He's there in Japan and he knows what the situation is….. which is MORE than what you know. #116.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:38 PM EDT Hank-1921206 I know you said your son shipped his wife and baby out of Japan because of what's going on. That tells me all I need to know #116.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:44 PM EDT timb2 Is it not ironic that a mass event like this strikes fear in us but we are not in the least bothered what we do to the environment and to our fellow human beings? #116.7 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:29 PM EDT nkorb1 timb, there are limits. People have to matter too. The environmentalists have wiped out entire jobs and occupations to save an owl. We need to go slowly regarding nuclear energy. If Japan hasn't done anything, it's taught us that. Our President is going to have to hear all of us. There are other routes we can take…such as drilling for our own oil and natural gas…and the environmental fanatics are going to have to get out of the way. It's just that simple….but you're right…we have to do it in such a way as to protect our environment and that of the rest of the world. #116.8 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:55 PM EDT Ahetch nkorb, you seem to think that any oil drilled in the US will only be sold to Americans. The oil companies put that oil on the market to any country that will pay the largest price. It's not OUR oil! 1 vote#116.9 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:59 PM EDT .believes in free enterprise This is NOT a chernoble, people…. the chernoble plant did NOT have outside containment vessels….. these plants do… it was NOT the earthquake that compromised these reactors either – it was the TSUNAMI….. 1 vote#117 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:29 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Actually, it was the Lord Jesus (you know, the son of Godzilla) who decided to smite the non-believing heathen Japs with radiation. Go Jesus!!! 2 votes#117.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:32 PM EDT believes in free enterprise you are disgusting. 1 vote#117.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:36 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 And you sir, are a worshipper of Satan. I hope that the Lord Jesus (the son of Godzilla) smites you with a bolt of lightning. Go Jesus!!! 1 vote#117.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:38 PM EDT RiverRat-2596614 Jack's making me chuckle. Chuckling is good. Go Jack!!! (the true Son of Godzilla) 1 vote#117.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:51 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 RiverRat, you are the first person here who broke the code! 🙂 1 vote#117.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:56 PM EDT .nkorb1 I believe that alot of the things that the news puts out are exaggerated. Our hearts pour out to those whose homes have been destroyed. I don't have the money to ship anything, but my family is collecting blankets, flashlights, wet wipes, food, batteries, and tissue and toilet paper for those who do not have shelter. We're praying constantly for you. We also are frightened that if the worst happens, it will not just be Japan affected…so we are anxious for you and for ourselves. I think perhaps we ought to rethink nuclear power here, begin drilling for our own oil and natural gas, and pursue things like clean coal burning. We already have that technology and we simply haven't been using our own natural resources and I cannot fathom why. #118 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:32 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Maybe the Japs can BUY our stuff with the hordes of dough that they have over there. What a novel idea! That will teach them to mess with the Lord Jesus, the son of Godzilla! Go Jesus!!!! 1 vote#118.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:33 PM EDT nkorb1 How ignorant can you get? They don't have hoards of cash. When a Japanese person gets a job, it's for life, and their government is in debt because of pensions…they believe in taking care of their elders as well. What a different way of looking at things. RESPECT…look it up Jack. You might learn something…and it's not even in code. 1 vote#118.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:58 PM EDT .believes in free enterprise and thank God that the Japanese people DO NOT act like Americans….. they have things under control……. it is the American media blowing everything out of proportion and spewing their doom and gloom…it's absolutely RIDICULOUS!!!! 1 vote#119 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:33 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 This is happening in Japan because they are a heathen people who do not belieive in the the Lord Jesus (the son of Godzilla). To punish these heathens, Jesus is spreading radiation throughout the entire heathen nation of Japan. Go Jesus! 2 votes#119.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:35 PM EDT .Hank-1921206 From Foxnews – "Though Kan and other officials urged calm, Tuesday's developments fueled a growing panic in Japan and around the world amid widespread uncertainty over what would happen next. In the worst-case scenario, one or more of the reactor cores would completely melt down, a disaster that could spew large amounts of radioactivity into the atmosphere." #120 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:34 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 This is obviously the work of the Lord Jesus, the son of Godzilla. 1 vote#120.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:36 PM EDT .ippon No Looters! Wonder whats the difference here and there. #121 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:35 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 The Japs have already looted us in selling TVs and cars with stolen technology. The Lord Jesus (the son of Godzilla) is now punishing those heathen monsters. Go Jesus! 1 vote#121.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:37 PM EDT ippon Thats looting us, we loot ourselves, remember katrina and all the looters #121.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:40 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Actually, I remember "Katrina and the Waves" ("Walking on Sunshine"). Anyway, the Japs are being punished now by the Lord Jesus, the son of Godzilla. Go Jesus!!! #121.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:42 PM EDT chuck-348396 Jack yourself off. #121.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:43 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Chuck, your comment is totally uncalled for. I am now praying to the Lord Jesus (the son of Godzilla) to give you cancer. Go Jesus!! #121.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:49 PM EDT Brent-733131 Can Newsvine please ban this Jack troll already? Jack, you may think all this is funny, but have you noticed no one is laughing with you? 1 vote#121.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:36 PM EDT Ahetch What is funny is that beck says that the earthquake and tsunami are god's way of punishing us. Please, get this guy a straight jacket. 1 vote#121.7 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:01 PM EDT .Billie-2352729 "China became the first government to organize a mass evacuation of its citizens from Japan's northeast. Air China and China Eastern Airlines also canceled flights to Tokyo and two cities in the disaster area. German airline Lufthansa started scanning aircraft returning from Japan for radioactivity, NBC News reported. "This is a precautionary measure for us," a spokesman said." It is really to give those nations credit, and it is about prevention. China government takes care their own people even in midst of the democratic differences; but this is another evidence, (the one before this is evacuation of their own people from Libya), that they have done a good job to look after their people in term of crisis. #122 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:37 PM EDT timb2 And if something like what is depicted in 2012 movie happens, God forbid, some Chinese have a good chance of surviving in the higher elevations of the Himalayas and the Chinese Govt knows it. #122.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:34 PM EDT .chuck-348396 Tomorrows Headline for MSNBC "The earth is crumbling, this is the end, for all mankind" #123 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:40 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Don't forget that it will also say "Vote for Obama in 2012"! #123.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:41 PM EDT Hank-1921206 How about today's headlines from Fox – Japan, U.S. Consider Chopper Drops In Race to Reverse Nuke Reactor 'Boil' U.S. Navy Detects Radiation at Base Near Doomed Nuke Plant | Radioactive Material Blowing Away From Japan U.S. Expert Says Nuclear Breach Possible | Hawaii Monitors Radiation | Germany Shuts 7 Nuke Reactors #123.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:47 PM EDT Ahetch "Don't forget that it will also say "Vote for Obama in 2012". better yet, " Vote for Bachmann because we've all gone as crazy as she is". hahaha #123.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:05 PM EDT .BT3 What a contrast between the worthless scum in New Orleans and Japan. The world can take a lesson from the Japanese people, good luck to all involved. 1 vote#124 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:46 PM EDT ippon I agree 100% #124.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:47 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Comment collapsed by the community The Japanese do not believe in the Lord Jesus, the son of Godzilla. There, the Lord Jesus is punishing them with radiation. This will teach the heathens of the world who is the boss. Go Jesus!!! #124.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:50 PM EDT Sally Jack Meoff-3185350 banned. Been here less than a month and all of your comments violate # 1 and/ or # 5 of the Code of Honor. No, thank you. 2 votes#124.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:13 PM EDT Duh101 Oh, come on now, that was funny. Why are you banning Jack. A little humor in a dire situation proves that we are human. I don't know who said it, "I laugh, because otherwise I would cry." or words to that effect. #124.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:16 PM EDT .ippon Sarah Palin can see Japan from her window. #125 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:47 PM EDT hockeypuck she never said she could see russia,but you can see russia from alaska.ask obama a question please. #125.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:12 PM EDT Ahetch Sarah palin is a non issue now. And I hope it continues. Just let her stay in her house watchin' Russia, Japan and any other countries she wants. #125.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:08 PM EDT Duh101 Oh, I hpoe she runs. I'd vote in a Republican primary just to vote for her. The humor it evokes would be worth it. #125.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:18 PM EDT .Benet "U.S. banking giant Citigroup said it was keeping workers in Tokyo informed but there were no evacuation orders, said a spokesman" – Other industries and other countries are acting in the best interest of their employees and populations, however, of course an American bank would not leave a disaster while there were still people there to take money from. Their plan is probably to rotate out employees who are radioactive with those that were not and so on… 1 vote#126 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:48 PM EDT.Jack Meoff-3185350 20 years from now, I want to see what the soon to be newborn children of these Japs look like. WIll they have three arms and two heads and 1/2 of a pecker? Stay tuned, and thank you Lord Jesus, the son of Godzilla! Go Jesus!!!!! #127 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:52 PM EDT hockeypuck maybe they will be tall and strong and atheletes that we can respect for tjheir hard work. #127.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:14 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Most likely they will have 6 fingers each on three hands; they will have two heads each and 1/2 of a penis. Thank you Lord Jesus, the son of Godzilla, for punishing these heathens, Go Jesus!!! #127.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:37 PM EDT nkorb1 Is this your effort to try and pretend to be a Christian so you can generate further disrespect of those who actually do believe in Jesus? People who don't know any better might actually believe it. You're very common and nasty. I've reported nearly all of your responses and I'm writing to MSN to find out if they can put you off of here entirely. #127.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:03 PM EDT justiceprincess-2671891 Here you are, NKORB, I want to be one of the first signers of that petition! Yours truly, justiceprincess p.s. But the problem is – and we all know it – as soon as some nitwit is thrown off of a site permanently, they just come back under a different name. But it's still worth doing in this case! #127.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:55 PM EDT .Reality Check-1104333 Where is the world-wide indignation of a nuclear melt-down? If this was the US…holey-moley! #128 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:56 PM EDT.bobo-2450674 Some numbers from the European ENS recent global count of Reactors. 442 operating , 65 under construction. Many more in the planning phase. Some of us looked at the age factor in containment vessels and identified deterioration associated with concrete and metal aging during the mid 1990's. A conversation emerged regarding a 30-35 year reactor age for decomissioning time and if utility funds were banked for that decomissioning. 75% of reactors in the existing American "fleet" are ready or near their decomissioning time. Citizens and rate payers in the Global Grid regions serviced by aging reactors will be wise to restart this "decomissioning" conversation. Fukushima's are 40 yrs. old. Aging Nukes, like older vehicles and aircraft, develop problems well recognized by designers. If plans are in place to build newer plants, the decomissioning costs must be in the 30 years projected life of the next reactor, plus those of the one being replaced. This includes fuel rods stored on site at many current facilities. This is a very political conversation. There are questions regarding individual utility book keeping and money set aside, but later used for maintenance. These added costs are higher now than they were in 1995, when the topic emerged. Numbers per reactor start at $450M and run upwards of $1Billion, location and contract depending. Some deep ocean trench dumping arguments emerged and a prominent US Senator jumped into the fray about public awareness, during a presidential bid.. This global cost factor, like cheap kilowatt prices for coal, gas turbine, hydro, or wind, is the point our human society now needs to address. 300 US reactors will require decomissioning, and plans for decomissioning the others under construction are now required, during their useful life or before they are put on the Grid. Germany is approaching an election and the US has one next year. Let us secure this conversation before returning to the spin on mid east oil. All 7 billion humans on this planet will have a stake in this longer term event horizon. Half of them are a short flight from the most current problem reactor. Please translate and repost this in your own language after checking your local figures. Accurate numbers are important to develop public confidence. MB #129 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:58 PM EDT hockeypuck the population on earth has to go down,of course the enemic cities will lose most.i don`t need one thing from the city. #129.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:16 PM EDT .DixieDarling I admire the Japanese for keeping calm and dignified during all this. My prayers are with these strong and capable people as they WORK to get their lives back to normal – and I know they will. There is nothing lazy about them and they never complain… we should all watch carefully how they overcome and recover from this devastating event. I am glad to know the U.S. is sending supplies and assistance to aid in their efforts to rebuild their lives. 1 vote#130 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:08 PM EDT Jack Meoff-3185350 Dixie, your prayers are meaningless because the Japs don't believe in the Lord Jesus (the son of Godzilla). Jesus has intnetionally polluted Japan with radiation to punish these heathens for their lack of belief. Go Jesus!!!!! #130.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:13 PM EDT Bobbis opinion Jack,you are offending people on this blog all because I rebuked you, by telling you that every word coming out of your mouth you will have to account for to the LORD JESUS on judgement day. #130.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:23 PM EDT .Candy Shaft Japanese people are very beautiful and kind. I am so sorry that you are having to deal with this kind of pain. Our prayers are with you. 2 votes#131 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:11 PM EDT.cynjy we could learn a lot from the Japanese. Even in food lines they recycle. Truly remarkable attitudes. 1 vote#132 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:12 PM EDT hockeypuck learn alot from the japaneese.the understatment of today,so many americans refuse to learn or grow.they ain`t going to learn a thing,you think they can find japan on a map,do you thing they know there are other countries or just other cities,america will become a somalia. #132.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:26 PM EDT .chuck-348396 I would be willing to bet that within 5 years you won't even be able to tell the had an earthquake there. They are very strong as a people nation and will overcome this setback. They don't stop working at 5:00 except to go punch the timeclock and go back to work. They love their nation. Some of us could learn a few things from them. 2 votes#133 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:23 PM EDT.m-612920 Jesus is crying out to all peoples: You will hear of wars and rumors of wars…Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains…And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come…For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now–and never to be equaled again…See, I have told you ahead of time…For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man…So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. #134 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:24 PM EDT hockeypuck when my younger cousin was killed in a car accident on graduation night my minister never said a word about god causeing the accident.but he did mention booze. #134.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:29 PM EDT hockeypuck that minister will never make me a god fearing christian,but he can reaffirm my belief in the ten commandments,sorry for poor spelling. #134.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:33 PM EDT nkorb1 m, there is much that has to happen yet, before the second coming. But you're right…I believe we are in the end days. #134.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:05 PM EDT .Will Peck While the planning for and reaction to this disaster has been remarkable among the Japanese people, I question the prudence of placing nuclear plants in low lying areas of the coast in a region with a long history of earthquake and tsunami. Apparantly the backup systems for cooling were knocked out by the tsunami, which has cause the nuclear crisis. If the plant has been situation fifty feet higher, there would be no crisis caused by the wave knocking out backup systems. Can we learn from this? #135 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:31 PM EDT Grover-3015838 so easy to sit back and criiticize the location of the nuclear plant – when no one before this tragedy ever voiced any concerns. If everyone was SO smart, why hasn't it been an issue prior? Do you think building one in So Cal San onofre is a good location too – right on the beach facing the pacific ocean? That's part of the problem with today's media too – everyone is so quick to criticize AFTER the fact. #135.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:39 PM EDT Hank-1921206 A lot of people tried to stop San Onofre. Hopefully, the worst case won't happen there too. #135.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:48 PM EDT nkorb1 People are busy living their lives and we often don't ask the right questions. A great many of us has been worried since Chenoble…but I know I'm thinking about it now. We have our own oil, our own natural gas, and the technology to use burn clean coal. In addition, we can use wind turbines to create energy. We already have 20% of our electric coming from nuclear plants…10% less than Japan. But we have to stop them now. Not enough is known. #135.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:08 PM EDT .Major Variola Americans cannot understand that the Japanese will stay calm. Because Americans would be killing each other on the roads, doing Katrina in the Arena again. Americans would be looting. 10x background in Tokyo, ok; whiners in NYC would be suing everything that moved. There are times when culture, or the lack of it, counts. 2 votes#136 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:34 PM EDT.JC-893726 No need to worry as soon as Obama and family get back from Rio and a couple of more rounds of golf he can maybe help out Japan with some solutions for the disaster. 1 vote#137 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:35 PM EDT Hold that thought! Its probably best for Japan if he stays on vacation and let's Japan handle their disaster. But he is a community organizer. He's not a President, his best work is under the table and as a community organizer. If you think Japanese people screamed during the tsunami, wait til Obama gets involved, you'll hear a collective "Horry Clap" 3 votes#137.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:39 PM EDT JC-893726 Oh wait I forgot he has another concert scheduled for the White House when he gets back from Rio,maybe the following week he could find some time to work with Japan on thier problems. 1 vote#137.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:40 PM EDT JC-893726 oops,wait a minute I forgot after Rio he has a game of one on one scheduled with Charles Barkley. 1 vote#137.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:42 PM EDT JC-893726 oops wait a minute I forgot after his one on one game with Barkley he has a campaign fund raiser to do for the Democrats in California. 1 vote#137.4 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:43 PM EDT Hold that thought! One on one with Barkley??? It's because he couldnt get a one on one with Michelle and who would want to? #137.5 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:44 PM EDT JC-893726 Holy moly I forgot after the fund raiser him and his wife have to go to Chicago it has been a couple of months since they have had some of thier favorite pizza,you all know there is only one pizza joint that makes the best pizza. 1 vote#137.6 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:48 PM EDT justiceprincess-2671891 Yeah, I know, but it sure as hell isn't in Chicago! 1 vote#137.7 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:02 PM EDT A panic stricken public can be just as deadly and crazed as the disaster itself. Wherever you live, you should have your own one-2 week supply of goods as even a disaster far away could block or limit the resurces that come to your local stores. And people…be like your grandparents…learn to live off the land for a few weeks if you have to, always have some garden veggies growing and know how to get a bird or squirrel if you have to. Better than rioting at a store that's running out of stuff, or waiting for FEMA/Red Cross to have all their meetings and figure out what to do. 1 vote#139 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:36 PM EDT Hold that thought! Im stocked up on rice, so no big deal. Hey maybe this will give the American farmers a break to make some better profits? #139.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:42 PM EDT .Hold that thought! Wow, some assortment of comments here. Hopefully, as Japan rebuilds they will see an influx of Made in America labels on products. And hopefully, every business who has left the US for cheaper labor in Japan and China will pay a big price for desserting their country with jobs. Now these businesses will lose millions if they can't get their products out. This is an opportunity for America to bring Japanese industry and business to America to assist in the rebuilding of Japan. 1 vote#140 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:36 PM EDT.mekinik jackyerselfoff #141 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:38 PM EDT.justiceprincess-2671891 Irresponsible journalism? You don't say!! This must surely be the first time some media group decided to puff up the headlines in order to make people read the article and then to instill in them as much fear as possible. In other words, just another day in the wonderful world of journalism. The field as a whole has certainly diminished in credibility over the last several years. It's too bad, because there was a time when the press could be counted upon for accuracy and honesty. #142 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:58 PM EDT Hank-1921206 Headlines, almost by definition, have always been sensationalist. Anyone incapable of getting news from various sources (especially in this day and age) and forming their own opinions, deserves to be told what to think by fear mongers, fair and balanced bigots and leftist pansies. There was never a time that the press could be counted on to be accurate and honest. At least, not by anyone with an IQ over 50. #142.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:05 PM EDT .RBTatt Atomic Industry spokesmen speak of Japanese radiation leaks as a "public relations" disaster. It goes far. far beyond that! Our own energy experts. both in and outside the industry, should at this very moment be reexamining any idea that atomic power has a place in supplying the energy needs, either in this country or in any other! Proponents of atomic energy want to offer up the argument that "we've simply come to far to make such a recalculation"; that already it's a "fait accompli"; but this goes far beyond a mere money-based decision; this is one of those historical moments where strong Solomonaic leadership is demanded and where the thinking of our nation's leaders as well as leaders in countries around the world will be tested as never before! #143 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:09 PM EDT.Texasbush What next? Godzilla! #144 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:13 PM EDT Duh101 I just knew someone had to say it. LOL #144.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:03 PM EDT .randy bauer-1027777 When does Godzilla come into the picture? After all, everything else that can happen to those poor folks already has. God bless, people of Japan. #145 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:16 PM EDT.Danny-2903070 I tend to agree….Panic is when doors are broken open, windows smashed, cashiers pushed aside….or the Greedy Shopowners are charging exhorbant fees/prices….Besides its not the japanese way….seems that the news media is trying to sell a story. 1 vote#146 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:18 PM EDT.justiceprincess-2671891 Does anyone know where to go on this site to report some of the abominable posts that are so full of hate at worst and at best, in very poor taste? I know there is a way to collapse some of the comments but how do you do that? These verbal atrocities are what make so many of these fora so worthless to even comment upon. It's hard to imagine that these kind of people have the audacity to say some of these things publicly. They are the kind who are way too cowardly to stand up and identify themselves, and make their statements in a place where they can be identified. 2 votes#147 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:28 PM EDT uradouch Unfortunatly, those types of posts are being made by imbeciles with no life, respect, or value, so to make themselves feel better they come on to Vine and try to pick a fight, and Vine doesn't do a damn thing about it….. Sorry, but I know EXACTLY what you mean. I would like to think that the Japanese people are smart enough to understand that the majority of the world is there for them should they need us. 2 votes#147.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:39 PM EDT Brent-733131 What does it take to get Jack Meoff banned for good, rather than simply collapsed? Newsvine, he's made countless inane posts, contributed nothing, and wished death on numerous posters. Why is he not banned already? 1 vote#147.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:44 PM EDT joeblow-3184643 LEFT click the Exclamamtion button at the bottom right hand of the comment box and you will see how to report someone. It is hard to see it but it is there to the right of the Up Arrow and above the Reply. #147.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:35 PM EDT .chuck-348396 Doesn't Japan actually own the United States, with what we have borrowed from them? #148 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:30 PM EDT.ChrisMcK I really think the media giants want a complete, Chernobyl-style meltdown. A great way to raise their circulation numbers. If the reactors are brought under control I think they will all be disappointed. Stocking up on essentials, and being concerned that a nuclear reactor accident 170 miles away might affect you, does not amount to a "panic." Under the circumstances, the Japanese are holding up to the strain remarkably well. Their country has been devastated and many have lost friends and loved ones. They are handling it with remarkable composure. Accusing them of "panic" is an insult. #149 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:30 PM EDT Duh101 Actually, Murdoch, Cheney, & the coal and oil companies would love it. So much for a new round of newer (hopefully better) nuclear power plants. I wonder if Hanoi Jane will come out to do a remake of her role, only call it "The Japan Syndrome." #149.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:08 PM EDT .uradouch ? #150 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:31 PM EDT.uradouch I feel horrible for the people of Japan after reading, and SEEING the devastation brought on by the earthquake/tsunami , HOWEVER, I somehow think that Japan is far better off than we are here in the U.S.A. after reading the incredibly ignorant, tasteless, and mentally challenged comments being made by some of these idiots on here. If you are one of these morons, I would like you to know that antifreeze tastes just like Kool-aid, but it gets you drunk. Go buy some. 3 votes#151 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:34 PM EDT.Sam 22 The gross dishonesty and inexcusable ignorance of the journalists reporting on this enormous tragedy is disheartening. The panic in Tokyo is justifiable though unhelpful. People panic when they know the truth is being withheld from them. People are not stupid! They panic when their ability to make a choice based on facts is being denied through the perpetration of lies. The indisputable fact is: Radiation fallout from nuclear fission, spread by explosions, wind and precipitation DOES contaminate the food chain. It contaminates every surface it touches. It is not selective! It does not dissipate quickly if it is Alpha and Beta particle radiation. Gamma radiation dissipates if it is not tied to Alpha and Beta particles. The emissions from nuclear fuel rods is always loaded with Alpha and Beta radiation. For the Japanese government to advise it's people to stay indoors and make their homes airtight is ludicrous and is intended to buy time for the government to decide what to do next. The criminal expectation of this industry to rely on their employees willingness to sacrifice their lives in this containment process speaks to the utter indifference with which this industry has addressed their lack of nuclear disaster response capability. Since Chernobyl they have known that the use of robots is unreliable at best and a total hoax in fact. Nothing electronic can function in the electro magnetic field that is generated by the extreme levels of radiation. Yet they go around the world proposing the expanded use of Nuclear Energy and spend millions here in the US to lobby our elected officials for permits to build more of their time bombs!! After the Chernobyl disaster occurred the government removed the first two feet of top soil in an area that was 45 kilometers from the damaged reactor to build a new town to house the employees of the Chernobyl Nuclear facility that still had 3 functioning reactors to be serviced. This town was build with international aid money. When I visited this town in 1991 I was startled to discover that the reading on my dosimeter continually sounded radiation warning alerts about the radiation level reading in this environment. Yet the residents of this town were continually reassured by their government that there was no health threat to them from this radiation. More than 70% of the children had leukemia, thyroid cancer, or bone cancer. The workers were given double pay and full retirement after 15 years of service. It took 15 years for Chernobyl reactor #4 (in meltdown) to be fully decomissioned. The radiation emissions in that area have not diminished. If the government and scientists of Japan have a conscience, the evacuated population of Japan should be prohibited from returning to their homes. Cesium 137 and it's companion Strontium 90 have a half life of 30 years. It takes 20 half life cycles before these radioactive particles will deplete enough energy to be harmless to any living organism. The solution of iodine pills and face masks is just pure nonsense. Once radiation is in the environment it permeates everything: your house, your car, your clothing, shoes, the air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat. Today we also know that the spent fuel storage ponds are an even greater threat. In one of them the water has reached a boiling point. The government of Japan should be honest and let all their people know that each and every one of them is in real harms way. The hubris and arrogance of the nuclear industry to the multigenerational consequences of one major nuclear accident needs to be defined as criminal negligence with intent to harm. 25 years have passed since the Chernobyl Nuclear disaster decimated the lives of millions of people in Eastern Europe, Europe and part of Turkey. The protective measures against radiation contamination have not improved one iota. In 1986 the people of Chernobyl were evacuated to a city 35 miles away and given face masks and iodine pills. While the the World health organization was proclaiming that there were only two cases of thyroid cancer in Ukraine I was standing in a children's hospital filled to capacity by children diagnosed with thyroid cancer. This was in 1991. This industry is willfully out to deceive just to get it's way and avoid all and any responsibility for the harm that their technology has caused and will continue to cause to millions of people for generations to come. 1 vote#152 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:34 PM EDT uradouch You sir, are NOT a douche. Everyone should read this post, that is, unless your a moron, if that is the case, your comments are meaningless, and you won't learn anything anyways…. 1 vote#152.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:47 PM EDT .Ahetch Citigroup will keep their people in Tokyo. That says it all! Get that last dollar at whatever price their people have to pay. 1 vote#153 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:45 PM EDT.Bill in Houston I find it very interesting that no one in Japan is breaking into the stores and stealing items after a disaster. A pleasant change from what the minorities do in this country at the slighest provocation. 1 vote#154 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:50 PM EDT WhenceOneWonders I lived in the US for 25 years and have lived in Japan for nearly 25 years. The difference in reaction to similar circumstances has much to do with income disparities and very little to do with "minority" status. Here in Japan, I'm in the low-income group, but my neighbors in the high-income group generally have incomes of (with few exceptions) about five times mine. Meanwhile, Japan has affordable health care, a good education system, and affordable public transport that does not confine less well-off people to particular areas. 1 vote#154.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:10 PM EDT .packerbacker-1228282 Yep, no better survival technique than to break into the appliance stores and grab a big screen tv, that'll get you by. Yes, Japan is a classy country with respect and honor still placing high on their way of life. I just hope they are not tested very long. btw, when they had the floods in S Dakota there wasn't any looting either. Go figure. #155 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:03 PM EDT.radar015 This is heart breaking. France advises its citizens to leave the city. China does the same. Leaving the people of Tokyo to their fate. This is surreal and – heart breaking. #156 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:03 PM EDT.justiceprincess-2671891 I know that my timing may be a little off for what I'm about to say, but I still think that nuclear power is by far the best hope human beings have for an alternative form of fuel and power. Yes, it is awful when something happens like what is happening right now in Japan, but if you look at statistics it is still the cleanest, most efficient and cost-effective option that there is. I believe that some day it is going to be the rule rather than the exception that it is presently. And no, I would not want to be anywhere near a plant that has a serious malfunction. But this one is so beyond any control that mortals have over the situation. A huge, natural disaster caused it, and we now must sit back and watch it happen and do our best to remedy and salvage what we can. #157 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:06 PM EDT Hank-1921206 whoops, wrong place #157.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:27 PM EDT joeblow-3184643 No way. It is not clean. Nuclear waste lasts for hundreds of thousands of years to even a million years. How will you pay someone to watch if for a million years to ensure it does not contaminate the environment? 1 vote#157.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:29 PM EDT .Adriaan-2950779 There is no love lost between China and Japan. Doesn't surprise me that the French are running around the court yard with their hands in the air screaming "Here comes the Dragon, let's throw down our swords and get out of here!" Their retreat to the rear may cause more harm than the radiation…at the moment. Hope they don't get in the way of folks trying to help. #158 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:14 PM EDT Hank-1921206 The French get 75% of their energy from nuclear power. They are not only very pro-nuclear, they are world class experts on nuclear power technology. If the French are not comfortable with what's going on with the Japanese reactors, the world needs to pay attention. 1 vote#158.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:27 PM EDT .radar015 Last year I thought nothing can be worse than that BP Leak and then out of the blue I get something ten times worse. I never could have imagined anything this bad in a million years. There seems no limits to the rotten news that pops out of nowhere. Maybe the Mayans are right. Whatever comes next has to be the absolute end. 1 vote#159 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:15 PM EDT.packerbacker-1228282 I think the more people that leave Japan now will do nothing but help those that remain. That's why I don't understand all these news agencies going over there so their reporters can vie for the Pulitzer prize for journalism. They just consume what there is already a shortage of so they should just stay away. There are plenty of reporters permanently stationed in these countries so we don't need the prize seekers over there too. #160 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:16 PM EDT.Pasinkoff By reading the email(s) above, it seems that the crisis is not at all as it seems. They seem to believe that we are being misinformed. The pictures say different. I have to say, I do admire the people there whom are sticking together and staying calm. This is the way to over come anything. Go on Japan -_-, we are all cheering you on. 1 vote#161 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:20 PM EDT.joeblow-3184643 This is a disaster of major proportions. No one has a handle on this. They may have thought they could handle this but it is becoming evident they do not have this under control. The Cesium radiation has a a halflife of 30 years and whereever it lands, whether water, grass, trees or towns it will be there for 30 years. Anyone that eats an animal that ate an insect that ate the grass or drank the water in the area Cesium is will get Cesium into their body. That is a fact. The radioactive isotope caesium-137 has a half-life of about 30 years and its radioisotopes present a high health risk in case of radiation leaks. IIs availability from the nuclear fuel cycle, and has a high water solubility which is a disadvantage which makes it incompatible with irradiation of food and medical supplies 2 votes#162 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:21 PM EDT.Paul_Morphy0 Make sure your bathtub has a good seal on the plug to hold water for a week or two in the months ahead. I have to agree 100% with Doc-1646975. Absolutely impressive how they are handling this. It is to be commended. My prayers go out to these people and hope they will pull through. I am sorry for the tremendous loss………unbelievably sad. 1 vote#166 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:27 PM EDT.Coreysan I'm a former resident of Tachikawa (near Tokyo), part of the USAF presence there in the 1960s. I'm confident that the Japanese people will fare well during this crisis, and we would serve them best by not behaving like look-ie-loos. If you can help them, great – go help. If you can't, read a different article, or pray. If you're a member of the media, show enough respect for them by behaving like they do. If you have a big mouth, close it. #167 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:28 PM EDT.cheesy-846740 Why does everyone think that this is a conspiracy… When Chernobyl melted down 56 people died… Then the radiation swept over the landscape and after all the cancer that number went up to around 4,400. The Russian people have not been allowed to live within a 250 mile square radius of the meltdown… It has been 25 years! The Russian people actually had someplace to go. Tokyo does not! #168 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:33 PM EDT.Terry H-1988645 My hat is off to the people of Japan. This catatrophe is off the scale of anything most of us have ever seen, yet they appear to be taking it in stride. Sure there is grieving, but nowhere is there rioting, or any of the things we've seen elsewhere in the world, including right here in the States. I thought the Germans were an orderly people, but the Japanese put them to shame. I doubt if I could stand to live like they do, but I truly admire them. 1 vote#169 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:40 PM EDT.Homosapien-3186412 So I am to believe that "Safety focuses on unintended conditions or events leading to radiological releases from authorized activities. It relates mainly to intrinsic problems or hazards." And reassured that "It should be emphasized that a commercial-type power reactor simply cannot under any circumstances explode like a nuclear bomb." Also stated "While nuclear power plants are designed to be safe in their operation and safe in the event of any malfunction or accident, no industrial activity can be represented as entirely risk-free. However, a nuclear accident in a western-type reactor is now understood to have severe financial consequences for the owner but will give rise to minimal off-site consequences." I pray that my trust in the World Nuclear Association who is the international organization that promotes nuclear energy and supports the many companies that comprise the global nuclear industry. wna@world-nuclear.org. (If it is the laws of physics and the properties of materials that preclude disaster, not the required actions by safety equipment or personnel. In fact, licensing approval now requires that the effects of any core-melt accident must be confined to the plant itself, without the need to evacuate nearby residents.) •I have concerns about the accidents and their possible effects. In particular the scenario of loss of cooling which could result in melting of the nuclear reactor core? Can both the physical and chemical possibilities and the biological effects of any dispersed radioactivity be discussed? •How many facilities where a cause for imminent concern? •What are the amounts in doses of radiation have been exposed to the environment? •What amount of radioactivity has been released? •What is the radiological harm? •What should we expect of the environmental impact from the venting and usage of salt water cooling? •Is there any reason to suspect that any radionuclide’s where dispersed? •What is the integrity of the primary and secondary containment structures of all effected facilities? •Has there been any containment ruptures? •Have there been any breaches of containment? •Have any of the reactors been severely damaged? •What was the duration of time affecting the three reactors inability to be properly cooled down at the Fukushima Daiichi plant? How many times did the coolant level become a safety concern? •If licensing regulations are framed accordingly. Where all facilities in compliance with these regulation? Where/Are these affected reactors in compliance with the licensing approval now required? With this Natural disaster causing these emergencies at these facilities will there be any safety improvements to ensure that this accident isn't repeated? •Are there health/environmental effects caused by this tragic accident? •“The authorities have pumped sea water into three reactors. This water will be contaminated by its passage through the reactor, but it is currently unclear whether any of it has been released into the environment.” Where is the contaminated water now? 1 vote#170 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:55 PM EDT.The Beev-2396805 Oh for the love of Pete fear-mongering, propaganda king MSNBC and your in-bed government! I have talked to two different friends with family over there (TODAY)…one lives smack dab in Tokyo, the other half way between Tokyo and ground zero. THERE IS NO FREAKIN MASS PANIC! You should be ashamed of yourself for such piss-poor reporting. Also, I have seen three different physicists who all say.. it is still contained, albeit a dangerous situation indeed. 2-3 miles out…yeah…everyone has split. 12 miles out…their current readings are NIL except for downwind and even then…those exposed are bathing with soap and water and coming out not registering radioactive. So…who's bullsh##ing whom? I guess my two friends and their family over must be hallucinating from too much radiation huh? I suppose next they will call me to say they've seen Godzilla rise from the rubble. Yes…this disaster is unfathomable, one for the books but you people who fear monger to attain whatever agenda or goals you seek…should forfeit your credentials. I guess if news stations can't report the bizarre, the horrific, the outlandish,, they;'d lose their audience's interest. So, lets see which news show out does the other. Gotta keep those ratings up! And YES, Fox is also trying to out-do their competitors with the biggest story of the day. I'm not saying things can't go south real fast…but as of when this story was posted…I talked to John and Diane Summers in Tokyo. #171 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:59 PM EDT chris-1189701 They are probably hallucinating like you said or their radio is broke. China is evacuating certain part of the mainland. I would encourage you to call them back, tell to pack their rags and get out of dodge. #171.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:53 PM EDT Hank-1921206 Fox, CNN, AP and others are reporting the same thing. And the MSNBC report is directly from AP. You freaking guys see monsters under your beds too ? What makes you think your friends in Tokyo know anything more than you or Fox, or China, or France, or CNN, or MSNBC, etc etc ? 1 vote#171.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:29 PM EDT Schlitzsky Uuummm because they are there and not CNN, FOX, AP and the others….. My in-laws live there and there is no panic. just another poor excuse for a journalist. No fact checking just go with what they hear. #171.3 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:15 PM EDT .Nashoba-2003345 Maybe it wasn't Japanese people who panicked, maybe it's the foreigners trying desperately to get out of the country. Or, perhaps it's the people who designed this nuclear power plant. Or perhaps the people who have said every day that everything was just fine, to calm down, don't worry. The fact is, that nuclear power plant is spewing radiation and NOBODY is happy about it, panic, no panic AND, by the way, journalists are over there right now very worried about their own health, but doing their best to report the news to the world about this most unfortunate ongoing disaster. I wouldn't want to be there seeing, feeling, hearing what they're experiencing. So, before we condemn senationalist stories – which is up for debate – let's stop and think about what the people are experiencing there. I'm feeling a little panicky for friends who are there. 1 vote#172 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:06 PM EDT chris-1189701 I want everything to be all right to Nashoba. The foreign journalist have fled according to the news. I'm just happy it is not me and I don't live in Hawaii or Cali. or Oregon. #172.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:50 PM EDT WhenceOneWonders I live in Tokyo, Japan. People here are concerned and worried. No one I have seen or have even heard about through the Japanese-language media is in a panic. #172.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:34 PM EDT .chris-1189701 test #173 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:18 PM EDT.Trilogy I'm sick of this hype. MSNBC is now the new Faux "Fox" News. #174 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:32 PM EDT ORION2 Just take it as a "sign of things to come"/maybe. I'm more curious about what we are probably "not being told",,,,or was that a hint? #174.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:43 PM EDT Hank-1921206 Fox, CNN, AP and others are reporting the same thing. And the MSNBC report is directly from AP. 1 vote#174.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:31 PM EDT .Wants to know Why is it that every time there is a disaster all the religious kooks all come out of the woodwork to let us know that God has somehow chosen them to make His will known? The arrogance of this "thinking" is astonishing. #175 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:43 PM EDT ORION2 Because they think they are as smart as God and know what he's thinking.(all ego tripp'n kind of stuff) #175.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:45 PM EDT notsojingo Eventually, some of the God Geeks will be correct about all things ending. But how many have been preaching the end for HOW LONG??? How many billions of them have just died without the Apocalypse? In their finding peace by the beliefs they hold, I am supportive. With the damage done by Holier-than-thou actions and preachings, not so much. The End of Times may be creeping up on us, but it would appear they will be welcomed by time they get here! Peace #175.2 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:29 PM EDT .Homosapien-3186412 I pray that my trust in the World Nuclear Association who is the international organization that promotes nuclear energy and supports the many companies that comprise the global nuclear industry. wna@world-nuclear.org. isn't unfounded???? "Safety focuses on unintended conditions or events leading to radiological releases from authorized activities. It relates mainly to intrinsic problems or hazards." And we are reassured that "It should be emphasized that a commercial-type power reactor simply cannot under any circumstances explode like a nuclear bomb." Also stated "While nuclear power plants are designed to be safe in their operation and safe in the event of any malfunction or accident, no industrial activity can be represented as entirely risk-free." Nuclear Power licensing approval now requires that the effects of any core-melt accident must be confined to the plant itself, without the need to evacuate nearby residents. So why evacuate? Oh yeah radiological releases that will effect humanity and our environment! Is this the Debt we'll pay for our ignorance of what we can not control! 1 vote#176 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:47 PM EDT ORION2 Its all from one philosophy, just like automobile accidents: "As long as the "little guy" accepts the risks we give him, and as long as its the "little guy" who ends up screwing himself up, or those around him. Then, that's OK with us." #176.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:00 PM EDT .WhenceOneWonders The newly revised version of this article includes "In Tokyo, canned goods, batteries, bread and bottled water vanished from store shelves and long lines of cars circled gas stations as the nuclear crisis set off panic-buying." However, as I pointed out before, the shortages, buying, and hoarding in Tokyo began well before any announcements about the power plants. They began on the morning of 12 March, effectively the earliest time after the first, largest earthquake when people would do their regular shopping. #177 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:32 PM EDT.jkap-3186665 Someone either at the AP or MSNBC must have been watching a Godzilla movie just before they wrote this story. #178 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:33 PM EDT bobo-2450674 I thought Zilla was up under the shrinking Artic Ice sheet thawing out in those methane gas bubbles. Canadian moose hunters and Alaskans claim a lot of new large furry things are showing up in the perma frost melt. Mabe we will see some scalely tales b4 this is all over #178.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:06 PM EDT .bobo-2450674 I posted a nice accurate decommission time frame and these guys never posted it earlier today. 40 year old reactors are old. They are supposed to have rate payer saving trusts for decomissioning by age 30 for older design reactors. There are 442 reactors out there, and 65 under construction. Time for rate payers to look at who profits and where the decommissioning trust funds are. These numbers are easy to search. #179 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:59 PM EDT.Billy-400615 wow…earthquake, tsunami, radiation fall out. Sounds more like a video game than reality. #180 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:59 PM EDT.jdeyemom Maybe their version of Panic is polite and not what we have come to think of as panic 1 vote#181 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:04 PM EDT.keeter-2982792 Has anyone seen or heard a news report featuring a Japanese citizen wailing, "It's the end of the world. All my earthly possesions are gone. I can't live on."? I haven't. Anyone else? #182 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:06 PM EDT.Schlitzsky Stop the fear-mongering. I talk to my in-laws on a daily basis and there is NOT any panic in Tokyo. Just another poor excuse for a so-called journalist who cannot "journal". #183 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:12 PM EDT notsojingo The people of Japan believed their Emperor was a God until we A-bombed them and made him admit he was not. They have great patience in things, both true and untrue. #183.1 – Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:37 PM EDT .Opus_P ……don't know if it's been mentioned here…but I'm concerned about plain and simple logistics. The ability for Japan to relocate +200,000 people if the need arises. Japan is NOT a big country….in most places its 150 to 200 miles wide (east to west)…and it's crowded NOW. They are surely not going to the high priced real estate of Tokyo…… …..when all this gets "figured out" I'd not be startled by a huge influx of Japanese into the Pacific Northwest of the US. KILDE TIL KOMMENTARERNE OVENFOR: http://world-news.newsvine.com/_news/2011/03/15/6272004-panic-grips-tokyo-as-radiation-levels-rise-#comments =====================================

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BioNyt Videnskabens Verden (www.bionyt.dk) er Danmarks ældste populærvidenskabelige tidsskrift for naturvidenskab. Det er det eneste blad af sin art i Danmark, som er helliget international forskning inden for livsvidenskaberne.

Bladet bringer aktuelle, spændende forskningsnyheder inden for biologi, medicin og andre naturvidenskabelige områder som f.eks. klimaændringer, nanoteknologi, partikelfysik, astronomi, seksualitet, biologiske våben, ecstasy, evolutionsbiologi, kloning, fedme, søvnforskning, muligheden for liv på mars, influenzaepidemier, livets opståen osv.

Artiklerne roses for at gøre vanskeligt stof forståeligt, uden at den videnskabelige holdbarhed tabes.