Japan Disaster

[rikku]

Just interested on what other peoples views are on this, a few things I have read today made me wonder how much some people really care.

The first thing I saw was a guy complaining that the iPad2 may be delayed shipping due to supply issues from Japan. Are people really going to complain about not being able to get the latest gadget?

The next thing was a colleague of mine on Facebook writing on his wall:

alot of people are worried about the disasters in Japan and the crisis of Libya becoming a new warzone. but to me, it bit like when princess diana died. I COULDN'T GIVE A F**K!!!

Another thing that concerns me is the radioactive threat, if there even is a threat? Our country have said that any UK citizens in Japan should get out as soon as possible, Japan themselves don't seem too concerned about radiation levels. Some countries are even going as far as to shut down their older nuclear reactors, is this a bit of an over reaction or is it an appropriate measure?

This website I found tracks radiation levels across Japan: http://www.rdtn.org/

[Daremo]

I think that the world is being de-sensitized to disasters and war.

The reason the US lost in VietNam was that in the late 60's news crews came and people could see what was happening. There was a HUGE outcry at seeing wounded, dead & dying soldiers of both sides that the government bowed to pressure and did not take the advice of senior military to continue.

Since that time practically everything has been exposed on the news, now the news media is the net and the reporters are the people themselves. Now we see every perceived injustice. Everything from a school bully to the revolts in the middle east is exposed to the world. We have so much hitting us that it's info overload.

As to the radioactivity, don't sweat it. The leak there is certainly locally of major concern and of global concern only because of the ripple effect globally on Japan's economy and stability. However the amount of leakage, even from a major land-based explosion, is of minor concern globally. Most would be dispersed and fall to earth or sea in dilute quantities long before it could do serious damage.

Most people forget, or were never told, that from 1947 until 1970 the US, China and Russia were routinely creating dirty nuclear explosions of high yeald on a regular basis. There were dozens of tests of air-burst, ground-based and underground tests even inside mainland US, China and USSR borders.

There have been no long-term documented effects. Hell, even Bikini Atoll is coming back to life. after a half-century. Chernobyl and 3-Mile Island are forgotten as radiation levels drop.

No there will be no major health issues globally from this, it is far less that just one of the tests done years ago. The plant can't have a nuclear explosion I don't believe because it will never get to critical mass. Certainly a melt-down and a danger of a mundane explosion spreading contaminants into the atmosphere for local dispersion are viable threats.

[MrsMo]

A quote from Joseph Stalin (of all people) applies here; "One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic." Many people are overwhelmed by the magnitude of the disaster, they can't wrap their minds around the numbers of lives lost, and so they just don't - they turn from it and back to their own lives.

On the other hand, your colleague sounds like he's burying his head in the sand. In addition to the lives lost in Japan, the devastation, the lives that will be lost in Libya, he's not seeing how these things WILL affect his life. In addition to that, he sounds like a real jerk without an empathic bone in his body.

Finally, the radioactive threat. I'm not concerned about the residual radioactivity in this country, but it is part of the devastation in Japan and I can understand the major concern - I would certainly want to get away from it and if I was a foreign national in Japan, I would be leaving asap.

[pukn]

People tend to forget that there are many sources of radiation in this world. I had to laugh about the report from the US Aircraft Carrier Ronald Reagan stating that they were experiencing levels of radiation so many miles off the coast of Japan. I laugh because first off, they don't give a "radcount" (the measurement of gamma radiation) and also, do you know what is used to power the carrier? It is a nuclear powered device.

Locally, yeah, shit really sucks. I feel for the folks there, especially the ones working actively to keep the powerplant from going critical, however, the media reports coming to us seem to want to perpetuate the fear of going nuclear and do very little to assuage the fears people have.

[treefrog2]

the media reports coming to us seem to want to perpetuate the fear of going nuclear and do very little to assuage the fears people have.

Its the Media. They have their own agenda, be it to sell advertising space or create a political mind set. There are probably other things going on that I cant even imagen, but its enough to know that they are not publishing news for us to be really informed. Their agenda has not been about reporting real information for informations sake for a long time. From time to time a well reported piece dose get published, but then I wonder whose agenda its meeting because its quite rare.
Have a look at the short video "The Rise and Fall of the TV Journalist" on youtube.
As my grandmother used to say "Believe non of what you hear and half of what you see and you'll be all right"

[coffee]

A quote from Joseph Stalin (of all people) applies here; "One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic." Many people are overwhelmed by the magnitude of the disaster, they can't wrap their minds around the numbers of lives lost, and so they just don't - they turn from it and back to their own lives.

That is Very well put MrsMo : )

First off to the guy complaining about not being able to get his iPad2 thing on time shit give me a break get over yourself you need a ass whoopin, you suck.

For me it's that I think it's that people are just so far removed from things like this when it's not in there back yard. Example I get up this morning step out on the deck with cup of coffee in tow and it's a beautiful sunny day. See that's what I mean I didn't get up to no home, loss of friends and loved ones, and a country left in ruins. Now that doesn't mean that I don't care because that's the exact opposite for me. The first video I watched was the tsunami coming across the farm lands, then you see the road and the cars trying to get the bridge, and I'm yelling for them to get that bridge, come on, and they don't make it, I was left there pissed off, like goddammit really come on.