

Japan nuclear crisis escalates - gnosis
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/16/japan-nuclear-crisis-escalates

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extension
_The EU's energy chief, Guenther Oettinger, told the European parliament the
situation was out of control. "We are somewhere between a disaster and a major
disaster," he said. "There could be further catastrophic events, which could
pose a threat to the lives of people on the island." He said it was impossible
to "exclude the worst", adding: "There is talk of an apocalypse and I think
the word is particularly well chosen."_

Apocalypse? Seriously?

Does the EU energy chief have some motive to exaggerate about this?

~~~
phlux
> _Does the EU energy chief have some motive to exaggerate about this?_

Or, rather, have the Japanese been _seriously_ downplaying the current
status???

As far as I can tell, no news is bad news with respect to situations like this
-- we have _not_ heard that they were able to rebuild the containment, lower
the temp and reverse the effects of corrosive last-resort sea-water-based
cooling of the (potentially) exposed fuel rods.

So, barring superman flying around Earth to make the reactor heal itself -- I
am leaning toward the EU position slightly more than the move-along, nothing
to see attitude.

What I _DONT_ know and desperately wish to know is what, if any, all other
nations are doing to help. Help in the lines of MATERIAL SUPPORT rather than
"our thoughts are with the Japanese people in this time of great need" empty
bullshit.

SO! WTF have we (the US) done so far to help? Are there many many teams of
experts on the ground in Japan right now - but they dont want to tell us the
level of effort deployed as it would reveal the severity of the problem, or
more likely, the lack-of-expertise in such matter the world collectively
shares??

~~~
gnosis
From what I've read the Japanese government has been refusing offers of help
from other nations.

